Dirty Blood
by Mako Thunderbird
Summary: In order to lure Jin Kazama into his grasp, Heihachi Mishima kidnaps his love, Julia Chang. To rescue her, he enlists the aid of Nina Williams, all the while struggling to contain the growing influence of the Devil inside him. JxJ
1. Dirty Blood, Chapter One

Disclaimer: Jin Kazama, Julia Chang, Michelle Chang, Nina Williams, Heihachi Mishima, and pretty much all other characters belong to Namco.

Julia fans might kill me later on as more chapters get added, but don't worry, I love her to death! And please, **_please,_** excuse my pathetic excuse for romance.

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Dirty Blood

by Mako Thunderbird

The streets of Arizona were very hot. Unbearably hot. And the fact that he was walking right beside Julia Chang wasn't helping at all. 

The dark-haired Japanese youth known as Jin Kazama got nervous every time he was around young Chang, and whenever she had asked if he was feeling alright, he would just reply "I guess I'm not used to the sun here."

There was one reason Jin was here, that was Julia Chang. He hated the unbearable heat in Arizona, and he was homesick for Japan. 

But Julia...that was a different story. Gentle, fun-loving Julia. _His_ gentle, fun-loving Julia. What other reason was there?

"Jules?" he asked as they walked down the streets. "Mmmmhmm?" came her reply. "You busy tonight?"

Julia was smart, and caught on quickly. "Okay....how does seven sound?" (Yes!) Jin said silently to himself. "Alright. Sure, Seven." 

He put his arm around Julia's waist, as the pair proceeded down the street. He liked Julia quite a bit. Wait, no- he loved her. Madly. He just wasn't ready to tell her, because he wasn't sure how to handle a serious relationship. 

Jin didn't want to endanger Julia, either. The Mishima Zaibatsu wanted him in their clutches. If they got close, she'd be in just as much peril as he was.

  
He didn't want that; not now; not ever.

Julia put her hands around the man's muscular arms and rested her head on his shoulder as they walked.

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Julia, you're making me sweat...Aak...I'm getting hot...

"Jin?" she asked, startling the youth. "Huh? What?!" 

Julia smiled. "I think you've had a little too much sun. Your cheeks are red. I think I've kept you out here long enough. Why don't you go back to your hotel now?"

Jin sighed. She was right, he'd burn if he were out here much longer, but it would take away the time he had with her.

"You sure? Alright then. My car's down this way." replied Jin.

They walked down the path toward Jin's car, as they were being watched, unbeknownst to them.

It was a strange man in a suit of armor, and a huge rifle. He took our a mic. 

"Mr. Mishima, sir?" 

An old, gruff Japanese voice responded. "What is it? Report."

"Yes sir," said the soldier, "Sir, I think we have the key to capturing your grandson."

A laugh of triumph came from the other end. "Tell me; how do you figure this?"

"It's very simple: Her name is Julia Chang."

Another laugh came from the other end of the troop's mic. 

"Hahahahaa...a tragic tale of Rome and Juliet...how....touching. You; locate Chang's house."

"Yes sir." He put the mic away.

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It cooled down in the Chang home- just a small cottage in the prairie. The weather was much more comfortable than the afternoon, and only half an hour, before Julia Chang felt she was going to be the happiest woman on Earth. 

She was wearing a blue dress, reaching down a few inches below her ankles. Her glasses were off, and her long, beautiful brown hair was separated into its usual two ponytails. Julia felt she wasn't 

ready. It could take her three years to prepare her for this date, and she still wouldn't feel ready. She couldn't get ready enough, because this she felt this evening was going to have a huge impact.

__

Just calm yourself. It's not gonna be a problem whether you're ready or not he'll take you no matter how good or bad you look....right? 

Julia couldn't stop worrying. Would she make it, or screw up? She had no time to think now. Best to let her know where the evening took her.

Her mother, Michelle, entered her room, and smiled. "You're beautiful, Julia."

"Thanks, mother..." she trailed off, and bowed her head in front of the mirror. Michelle tilted her head. "Julia....you seem troubled. Is something wrong? I can tell you like this boy quite a bit."

"No, mother, you're wrong..." Michelle was even more curious. "Oh?" "Yes, mother. I don't like him...I love him."

Michelle was astonished. She ran up and hugged her daughter. 

"Julia...this is wonderful! I'm so happy that you've found someone....how long have you known him?"

"A couple of years, mother." Julia sad with a smile, happy that her mother accepted her feelings. "Well, Julia, you better get ready. Only fifteen minutes until your date arrives." Michelle noted.

The sounds of a car pulling up echoed into the small house. 

"He appears to be early," said Michelle, as Julia went towards the window to see her date arrive....only it wasn't her date.

"Mother, look!" Michelle hurried over towards the window.

Several cars had been parked outside...and it appeared that some sort of soldiers were rushing out of them...and towards the house.

"Mother....I saw these people all over town today...I knew there was something about them! Mother, these are Heihachi's men!"

Michelle looked at her daughter in a panic. "What??! You can't be serious!" "Mother, I'll be right back." She ran back to her room, and appeared later in a white shirt topped in a jean jacket and a pair of jeans. She then ran towards the door.

Michelle, frightened for her daughter's safety, ran after her. "Julia, wait! You're not going to fight them yourself, are you! Come back!"

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Jin Kazama walked toward the Changs' house in his old school outfit (Julia liked it and it looked formal) , holding a small box. Tonight, he would be the happiest man on Earth.

He'd take a gorgeous woman out for dinner, and then ask her to marry him. This was going to be a memorable night indeed.

"Okay, deep breaths." The handsome youth walked up the front porch, and, when he merely touched the door, it broke off its hinges! Worried, Jin ran inside.

The young man found the home in ruined, furniture was broken knocked over, antiques were broken...but worst of all, Julia's mother, Michelle, was sprawled in the corner...with a bullet in her. Jin dashed forward, his body cold, cold as a frozen lake.

"Mrs. Chang! Are you alright? What happened??!" Michelle's eyes fluttered open. "So it's you...you're the one who's taking out my Julia" she noticed, and gave a weak smile. "It was...Heihachi..."

Jin became enraged as son as the words escaped Michelle's lips. His eyes burned with hatred as soon as she spoke "Heihachi".

"Julia tried to fight them off...but she was outnumbered...and they took her, Jin...they took her..."

The young man almost lost it when he heard the news....he felt like breaking everything, particularly Heihachi's neck, but all he did was bow his head, as a single tear escaped.

"I'm sorry, Jin, I am..." Michelle said quickly.

"No....I'm sorry, Miss Chang. Sorry that I couldn't get here and keep you safe...If it weren't for me, your daughter would be here instead of being held prisoner at the Mishima Zaibatsu...if not for me, you'd be in good health....god...am I sorry..." Jin said with sorrow.

"W...Why do you say such things?" Michelle asked. "They want me, Miss Chang. They want me dead. And getting involved with your daughter only put you in danger...I can't apologize enough..."

"Don't concern yourself with such things, Jin, for it is not your fault. You love Julia...I can tell."

Jin sighed. "I'm that obvious..." Michelle smiled once more. "I can see through many people, young Kazama. Now, please...I'd like you to do me a favor..."

Jin nodded. "Anything!" "Thank you. I want you to...I want you to find Julia, tell her that I love her, and...take care of her, Jin." 

Jin looked at her with sorrow in his eyes. "Please, Miss Chang, don't sound so final...I can get you help! Just tell me where a phone is! I can get an ambulance over here!"

"Jin Kazama...please, promise me...." and with that, her eyes fell shut for the final time. "I...promise..." 

Jin was filled with rage and sadness at the same time. Heihachi made his life nothing but a living hell, but he pushed the limit by far. He screamed loudly and broke the mirror nearby. 

"GOD DAMN YOU, GRANDFATHER!! I HATE YOU! I'M GONNA KILL YOU, YOU HEAR ME?!!!" He then bent down, and cried.

Phew, finally, finished. Sorry if there's any OOCness. Next chapter: Jin enters the fifth Iron Fist Tournament, and meets an old friend. Review PLEASE! ^_^


	2. Dirty Blood, Chapter two

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Disclaimer: The characters belong to Namco...

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No Julia abuse just yet ;)

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Dirty Blood

Chapter 2

by 

Mako Thunderbird

Jin waited for the ambulance to come and pick up Michelle's body, before heading back to Japan to figure out a way to get Julia back.

"How..?" asked himself, guilt and sadness completely filling him, "I wasn't able to protect her...how do I expect to save her? First my mother, now Julia....why is it that I always curse the ones I love? Well....I won't let it happen again. Julia...I'm going to find you."

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It was Twelve noon by the time his plane arrived in Tokyo, and Kazama was exhausted. He didn't care. Julia needed him. He was going to get her back.

"Oh...what do I know... just saying I willl won't make it happen.." he bowed his head again. He just couldn't get rid of the guilt that he wasn't there to save them...

Just there, he stopped dead in his tracks. 

A banner, hang high above a usually vacant building, read in Japanese and American, read...

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...The King of Iron Fist Tournament 5.

His hear skipped a beat, and, wasting no time, the young man began to run, run as fast as he could toward the building. 

He reached for the door....and stopped. _Wait...I'm not stupid...If I enter, then I'll be in more danger than I am. Heihachi'll get me for sure. Wait...Julia...this is my key to getting Julia! I see it now...they kidnapped Julia...to draw me in! It's the only way, I suppose...I have to get her outta there._

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The room had a buffet, a few tables, and the entrance fee table, all run by a few of Heihachi's corps. He glared at them, that fire that was rage was still burning.

"Jin??! Is that you?" Startled, he turned around. In front of him was a pretty Chinese girl, about 20, with pigtails. She ran up and hugged him.

"Hey, Ling. How've you been?" he asked casually.

"I thought you'd NEVER ask! I've had a WONDERFUL life! Everything that's happened has been great!"

Jin sighed and closed his eyes again. _Yep, she's still, bright, perky, lovable Ling Xiaoyu..._

"Why...Jin? Whassa matter?" He looked back at her. " It's Julia..." he trailed off. "Ooooh, that's right! Didja tell her how ya felt?"

He sighed once more. "No...I never got the chance, actually."

Ling was about to ask why, but seeing the hurt in Jin's eyes, kept her mouth shut.

"Well...nice seeing you again Jin! I gotta go register now though." Jin waved and half-smiled as she ran to the registration table.

He looked around; plenty of familiar faces, along with a few new ones. He sat down at a table that was partly occupied with a face buried in the news, and a cup of tea on the table.

"Williams," Jin said, recognizing the person behind the paper. 

"Kazama." Nina answered, eyes glued back to the paper. She picked up her cup and sipped her tea; not making any effort to start a conversation with him.

"So...you entering the tournament?"

It took her a few minutes to answer; she obviously wasn't feeling like a conversationalist. "No. I have a son, and I'd like to give him support." She pointed to Steve, who was signing at the registration table. "Ah." The youth replied.

__

Hmm....Nina's very observant, sneaky, and knows a lot....I also forgot that she was an assassin. Maybe...just maybe...she could help me...should I....Oh, what the hell, I have to get to Julia, and quick....and she's just the one to help.

"Nina....I'd like to ask a favor of you. A big one. I know we haven't been on the friendliest terms, and that we don't know each other that well, but..."

Silence. It was almost as if Nina was completely ignoring him. He continued anyway, he'd figured she was listening.

"I'd...like you to assassinate someone for me."

She put her paper down. "You'd 'like'? Try again, pal." She resumed her paper reading.

"_(Whatever...)_ Alright, alright. I WANT you to assassinate someone for me. I have money, and lots of it. Trust me, no matter what you ask for, I'm wiling to pay, because the person I want dead 

I can't hate enough, for how he's screwed up my life."

She set her paper down once more. "That's more like it...let me guess...Heihachi Mishima." 

She saw the "how did you know?" look on the handsome youth's face. "Hey, I get around. Unfortunately, you're a little late, Kazama. I've retired. Not in that business anymore. I never seem to do it right. And to do that, I'd have to enter the tournament. Meaning that I may have to face my own son, which I would not want. My apologies." with that, she put her paper back up and went back to reading.

__

Great. Fabulous. I'll never get to her in time...say, wait a minute...

"Nina, I know you're retired.....my grandfather can wait. I NEED your help. I know that assassins have to be..."

..."furtive, sly, and sneaky?" Nina finished, " I think I can see where you're going...." she then cut Jin off for a moment in deep thought. "Hmm...I guess it wouldn't be too bad. Tell me, what exactly do you want me to do, Kazama?"

Jin thought out clearly. "I need you to..." Nina looked toward the Tekken force. "Let's step outside," she said.

"Alright. I need you to spy on the Zaibatsu, and help me win the tournament. IN other words, take out (without killing) anybody, as soon as I'm about to lose...please, I need your help."

Nina looked at him strangely. "So...you want me to help you cheat? Wow, such good sportsmanship.. ." 

Jin sighed in agitation. "Look...Nina, call it what you want. I'm just trying to save the life of someone very dear to me. This damn Zaibatsu is a curse to my life. I just want it burned to the ground. But that can't wait...Nina, please...just this once..."

"Ohh...you're trying to rescue someone. Tell me, would this someone go by the name of Julia Chang?"

Jin widened his eyes in shock. "Okay...you've proven that you're just the right one for the job... please, Nina...."

Nina rolled her eyes. "Damn, you're persistent. Fine, fine whatever. I'm sure it'll be fun..." 

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much, Nina. I can't thank you enough...you don't know how much this means-" He was cut short. "Yes...yes, I do." "I'll pay you ANYTHING! please, tell me what you want!" Nina folded her arms. "Nothing. I like your persistency. And you seem to have faith in getting back your Julia." "Nothing?" "Nothing." Nina went back inside.

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Julia, I'm coming...

Wow...y'know I was expecting that to be a lot better...0_o

Seems rushed, dontcha think? Ah, well. R+R please!


	3. Dirty Blood, Chapter three

Here we go!   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Dirty Blood   
  
Chapter Three   
  
  
  
  
  
Jin sank onto the couch inside his mountain cabin. He'd been training hard at his dojo all day, and it took about half an hour longer to get home from the dojo because he'd been so tired.   
  
  
  
Julia was his Gatorade. He was fighting for her, and her alone. His worry had grown into obsession. He now hadn't cared about someone's conversation unless it mentioned news about Julia or her well-being.   
  
The phone rang. "Julia??!" the youth asked frantically. "Hi, handsome!" squealed a high-pitched voice from the other end of the line, "we on for-"   
  
  
  
"Cut the crap, Nina," he commanded as he heard hysteric laughter coming from the other end of the line.   
  
  
  
  
  
"Nice to see you, too..." she retorted as she calmed down, "Besides, do you honestly think they'd give Julia phone access inside a cell?"   
  
"They're...keeping her locked up in a cell?" he asked. The flame that was rage was burning brightly once more.   
  
"No Jin, they're letting her freely roam the halls of the Zaibatsu, leaving all the doors open, too" she said sarcastically. "Anyway, she's fine, they haven't hurt her."   
  
  
  
He breathed a sigh of relief. "Anyway, you're first opponent tomorrow is going to be Christie Monteiro. I get sick watching her move...you're gonna have to have low hitting attacks for this one, she ducks one helluva lot.   
  
  
  
Fantastic... "Well, I'll be supporting my son tomorrow, Kazama (He'll need it against that annoying chicken man Forrest Law) so you're own your own. Don't be complaining now. Jin...."   
  
  
  
"What?" "If you lose against your first opponent, then I'm going to laugh at you." He shook his head. "Alright, whatever, thanks..." he hung up. "Back to the dojo..."   
  
  
  
The cool night mountain air was very refreshing for Jin. It was kind of a healer from the hot morning sun in Japan and the seemingly never ending sun in Arizona.   
  
  
  
"Boy, I hope I don't pull an all-nighter..."   
  
  
  
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"Ooohhh...I pulled an all-nighter..." "Hey, wake up!" "Huh?" he wearily looked up to the source of the high-pitched voice, coming from none other than the scantily clad Christie Monteiro.   
  
  
  
  
  
"Ugh....what is it? What are you doing here?" Christie rolled her eyes. "Well, I was told that you requested your first fight be in your dojo...and here I am, getting up at 4 AM to get here while you're here, sitting on your lazy..."   
  
  
  
"Alright, enough already!" Nag nag nag.... Christie walked out of the dojo and appeared a few minutes later with a bunch of hi-tech equipment.   
  
  
  
  
  
"What's..." "What's this crap for?" she said, finishing the sentence for him, "Heh....don't expect me to know. They just forced me to bring this junk with me. No instructions with it or anything."   
  
  
  
She set down the speakers, boxes, and even the TV screen. The tanned woman shrugged. "Guess they're broadcasting this thing live on TV or something. Help me hook it up, will ya?"   
  
  
  
  
  
"Okay....now we have to press this button." The television flashed, but that was it. Christie shrugged. "I suppose they are setting this thing up on TV. How....nerve-wracking, I guess."   
  
  
  
It was Jin's turn to shrug. "Look, we have, what....twenty minutes before the match, so just....do whatever. I'm gonna train the rest of the time.....say, what are they doing here?" he said angrily, pointing to two Tekkenshu.   
  
  
  
  
  
"Ugh, I dunno, think they're timing the fights or something, who cares?"   
  
  
  
I do... "Heh, whatever. You go on ahead and do whatever. Just meet back here in twenty minutes." Christie folded her arms. "Hey, I'll train too! It'll only make you look more like an idiot as soon as I whoop your-"   
  
  
  
  
  
"OKAY! I get the friggin' picture..." They took their space, as Christie started a few flips and dances as Jin hit a punching bag...   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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"Ma'am, sir, the match is about to begin," stated a Tekkenshu through a radio-like voice.   
  
  
  
"Alrighty. Here we go!" Christie screeched.   
  
  
  
Jin rolled his eyes and mouthed her as she said it. He tightened his glove, but something wasn't right...   
  
  
  
"Christie?" "Yeah?" "For Christ's sake; button up your shirt. You've giving me a nosebleed."   
  
(Don't kill me...)   
  
  
  
The young Brazilian woman landed on the hard wood floor of the dojo, and let out a soft moan.   
  
  
  
  
  
"Okay, that's time. Jin Kazama wins!" came from one of the Tekken forces. "Geez, thanks for rubbing it in," complained Christie as she slowly got up from the floor.   
  
  
  
"God, Kazama, I hate you!" she said while jumping up and down in a rather immature hissy fit. Her breasts were doing much the same. "Why are you so damn good?! Hmph, I'm outta here!"   
  
  
  
  
  
"Good riddance!" he said with a smile and waved as she stormed down the mountain path, probably to go off to whine to someone. Lover boy Eddy perhaps.   
  
  
  
He chuckled to himself.....and stopped. Someone else, in a gruff voice, was laughing too. Jin turned around...   
  
  
  
....Heihachi was on the Television screen, clapping. "Grandfather..." he growled, but it didn't seem that Heihachi heard him.   
  
  
  
"Heheheh....congratulations, grandson, you've passed your first match, isn't that such an achievement, boys..." The Tekken forces surrounding the old bastard applauded.   
  
  
  
  
  
"But....I think your little sweetheart is proud of you more than anyone else...right, Julia?"   
  
  
  
Jin's eyes widened as Heihachi stepped away from the TV screen.   
  
  
  
There was Julia, tied to the wall. Parts of her clothes had been ripped, and bruises and cuts had been evident throughout her beautiful face.   
  
  
  
"Jin," she said rather weakly, "Get out...he got mother, he's going to get me.....don't wait up for me, it's a trap, Jin, a trap......................I love you, Jin..."   
  
  
  
His heart skipped a beat, she said those three words.   
  
  
  
  
  
"Awww, isn't that sweet...I..I've got something in my eye," he said in a mocking tone. Jin grimaced.   
  
"Julia, you haven't told us what you think of Jin's victory yet, have you?" No reply.   
  
  
  
"Speak up, nobody can hear you!" he said mockingly once more. "Tsk, tsk, tsk...I guess you're tired. Perhaps a little JOLT will give you energy...." he motioned to a Tekkenshu.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
Jin became frantic. "No...they're not going to...he wouldn't, I can't believe it-NO!" he flipped a switch, and in an instant, high voltage spread throughout the young woman's body.   
  
  
  
Jin's emotional pain was almost more than equivalent to Julia's physical harm. As watched her there helplessly, closer to dying each minute from the pain she was given, as he heard the ear-piercing scream...   
  
  
  
They finally died down. Something cut it short, and he was glad, a little. Heihachi's voice returned. "You there-see what's happened to the damn electricity....well, grandson, I must be off, work calls. Julia'll be waiting for another chance to see you again..."   
  
  
  
He turned to the girl, who lay chained to the wall, motionless; the force had knocked her out. "Heheheh....farewell, Jin!" he said laughing. The TV flickered off.   
  
  
  
  
  
"God....you....bastard," he managed, as his hand slid down onto the floor from the television, as did the rest of his body. All he could was stand there, and watch them torture her, without being able to do a damn thing. Still, it wasn't entirely his fault, was it?   


"Jin, Jin...Kazama, PICK UP!" Nina yelled through the microphone hidden inside Jin's ear. 

"...what..." had just barely escaped Jin's lips.

"Wow! Look at Jin, so excited that he's won his match!" Nina exclaimed, easily getting impatient.

A grunt came from Jin. "...and he's also so happy to hear from the person who is helping him CHEAT!"

"OKAY! ENOUGH ALREADY!" The youth burst.

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I am too good...Nina boasted inside her head. "So, why are you absolutely _ecstatic _about seeing me?"

Jin sighed. "Nina, don't wanna talk about it, so if you please would just carry along with your business..."

"Would you look at that! He's even GRATEFUL for all my help...anyway, it appears your opponent for next week's gonna be...oh my god, Jin, I can't say it....it'd be too painful for you...I gotta go..."

"Nina? Hello?" No answer, she disconnected. He sighed and took the microphone out of his ear. Obviously, Nina thought that this certain person Jin was fighting next week meant a big deal to Jin. Unless he was fighting Julia, he didn't really care who it was. Well, he'd find out who it is within one week...he'd take the time to worry his ass off about Julia, though.

Jin wanted to get through the tournament as quickly as possible. The Mishima Zaibatsu might torture her to death, or maybe even kill her right in front of his eyes, this time without a television screen. Julia was a tough girl, and could withstand so much as the harm being done killing her. But, sooner or later...

hey, sorry about the censored fight scene, I'm still trying to learn the structure of Jin's moves, I've watched about a million videos. Don't worry, I'll be able to illustrate a fighting scene sometime soon!


	4. Dirty Blood, Chapter four

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Okay then. Glad y'all like this, you're my inspiration! *waves to all* Thanks for the reviews, and for waiting! ^^;

Dirty Blood, Chapter 4

As sweat radiated his body, Jin shoved the covers of his silk sheets with his feet, placing a burning hand over his eyes. 

"You're okay....you're okay...(sigh) am I really? I just don't know what to think anymore..."

He pulled the chain on the lamp of his nightstand, taking a moment to get used to the light, and took a framed picture off.

It was taken around last year, a photo of them together. Jin had his arms wrapped Julia's slender waist, and his head resting on her left shoulder, grinning smugly. She, on the other hand, had her hand stretched behind his neck and smirked casually.

He remembered the lush greenery of the park they were in, as the picture was taken in front of a gigantic, squared bush. Jin and Julia first started dating around that time, remembering Xiaoyu's taunts and reminders that he was going to fall for her, though it wasn't that serious...up until now.

"Yeah....I fell for her...madly...and look where it's gotten me!" he said bitterly, "I love, then I lose...Dammit, I guess us Mishimas are doomed by fate, aren't we?!"

He closed his eyes for a few minutes, before reopening them to calm down. "(Sigh) I haven't lost her yet....but I feel lost...alone. Right now I can't talk to her, laugh with her, look at her...god, I'm so hopeless..."

He spread out his body on the bed. "I've got hope for you, though....we'll make it, Julia. We will." He placed the picture on the table, face-down, and closed his eyes for the night.

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"Inject her."

"Excuse me, sir?"

"You heard me."

"But, sir, you said we're not supposed to kil-"

"I'm not trying to kill her, you twit. I mean for you to DRUG her."

"But, Mr. Mishima, sir, most of our drugs are lethal, fatal, or untested… She could become disabled, or perhaps die."

"JUST DO IT!" Heihachi screamed, forcing him to the wall.

"This isn't your best option, sir, given her body's weak as it is." 

"Then give her some of it and tone the rest down. It doesn't matter how you do it, you can shove it up your ass first for all I care, just make sure she receives it!"

"...Sir...you really shouldn't be making me do this." he left. 

The elderly Mishima sauntered toward the girl sleeping gratefully in the surprisingly comfortable bed, and stroked her cheek.

"Ah...so innocent...it's a wonder Jin chose you. You're so....perfect." He laughed once. "Your body is so strong....there are so many things we could do with you while my grandson mopes about. You wouldn't mind that, would you?" a twisted smile formed on his crusty lips.

Her eyes were closed. Her body was drained. But she was fine. Any more of his threats and teases and worthless prattle infused her with a strong urge to leap up and do to him what he had in store for her. 

Julia didn't want to listen to Heihachi drivel on or go through anything else; that was obvious. But she was going to have to, so it was best to suck it up. Best pretend not to listen.

Heihachi would've taunted her further, had his loyal employee not interrupted by returning.

"I still think you're not making the right decision."

  
"Just do it so you can regret my actions later. I'm not a man of patience."

"That doesn't help."

"Inject it already, God dammit."

He hesitated once, before rolling Julia's sleeve up and pushing the needle into her arm.

She was able to wince and moan very quietly, as it was all she could do (and all she WANTED to do, in Heihachi's presence) in response to the add-on of the excruciating pain throbbing inside her body. The light moans demoted to that of cries barely below a whisper, before her consciousness was snatched away entirely...

"Night night, Jules!"

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Jin's eyes shot open to the sound of a loud ring.

"Ugh....who'd be calling this late-oh." It was nearly noon.

He reached for the phone, stopping to stand up the picture at the park, and brought it to his ear.

"Uh," he said groggily.

"Good morning, sunshine!" Nina chirped enthusiastically on the other side, "Sleep well?"

"Uh," he repeated.

"That's **_wonderful!_** I hope you can have a **_relaxing_** shower, eat a **_delicious_** breakfast, and hurry over to the hangar **_really_** fast, because **I'M GOING TO THROTTLE YOU IF YOU DON'T!_" _**she boomed, "I'VE BEEN WAITING THREE HOURS FOR YOU TO GET HERE SO WE CAN PLAN THIS NEXT FIGHT OUT BEFOREHAND, AND IF YOU DON'T GET HERE FASTER THAN LIGHT, I'M GOING TO WHOOP YOUR SORRY ASS!"

She hung up, much to Jin's relief. "Okay..." he quickly made his way out of bed and into the bathroom, with a gut feeling that he should be making his funeral arrangements right now.

But his curiosity was burning....who was he going to fight today that Nina was so concerned about?

"...Marshall Law? Law...Marshall...Law...Law...Marshall..." an incredulous Jin repeated tiredly, "I don't get it. What's the big deal?"

"What's the big deal?" mimicked Nina; "It's Marshall Law!" they said in unison.

".....We're getting nowhere." noted Jin.

"I know."

"Well, are we gonna continue getting nowhere?"

"Maybe."

"Ugh, this is-"

"Going nowhere, we've learned that lesson, Jin."

"You're so strange."

"I know, I get it from you, sweetie." She pinched, and then slapped his cheek.

"But seriously, what was the drama for?"

"You don't know Marshall Law in-depth. And, by looks of it, this time around, he seems....very in-depth...y." Nina watched the man perform somersaults on the other side of the Hangar's surrounding field.. 

"Oookay." He pushed his hair back, letting his arms rest behind his head. "Well, this guy's been an easy shell to crack before...."

"How do you know?!! He didn't even reach you the last time!" Nina reminded.

"...from what I've seen."

Nina shook her head. "Seeing isn't believing, dude. This guy isn't a walk in the park. I know you want to get through this....but you have to have more experience on things like this." 

He shrugged. "I just think....see my enemy as no big deal. It helps....though I can't always expect the outcome to be the same...and please, the drama is not needed." He turned toward his foe.

"...but I need to have someway to assure myself. It helps me think about the fight itself. Not what I'm fighting for. If I didn't, I'd probably be weeping about Julia instead of fighting." His eyes swelled up at the mention of the name he so longed to see in person again.

"I'm very tired, though." His eyes fluttered.

She noticed. Jin had staggered like a zombie towards the hangar when he met up with her, and closed his eyes on and off continually.

__

Well, he got here okay...

"Hey, you gonna be alright? Sleep seems to be the thing you need right now."

__

But okay doesn't describe him now.

"Yeah, I'll live."

"Well, you need to be more than alive at the moment," she advised, as the irritatingly familiar sound of "WA-TAAH!" carried through their ears. 

"If you hadn't made a phone call almost like a life or death situation..." Jin let it hang.

"Look, Jin, I know how you feel. It's hard, and we can kick everyone's asses. But really, stay focused. Do what you have to do that requires all your energy and concentration, and then use all your free time to let anything else burst out. You could start by hiding everything that reminds you of her." 

Jin opened his mouth to speak.

"Give me that 'Everything reminds me of Julia!' treatment and I'll slap you. Hard. Heh, just the little things. Something that's her favorite color, her favorite anything, that picture of her on your nightstand..."

Jin gawked at her, wondering what kind of crap she was spouting.

"...and after that, there's only the massive mental torment you'll have to face every night for a weeks, and once that's over..."

"...God, Nina, what is your problem?!"

"...Feel better?" she asked, her bottom lip sticking out.

"Yeah, a whole lot! Thanks!" he spat direly, staring incredulously at the blonde before him.

She smiled warmly. "Surprise I can do that to you, Anna always hated it.."

In the midst of their discussion, a strange, silver, metallic van which easily failed an attempt to make a quiet entrance from behind the large hangar building arrived on the scene, pouring out armored men as if to be a team of S.W.A.T dispatched to the site of the terrorist.

"Oh, well, that's my cue! Communications?"

Jin reached his hand into his ear, (with difficulty because of the size of his fighting gloves) to feel the small, unnoticeable microphone which nestled itself inside. "Check."

"Okay, good." She nodded steadily, stroking the sides of her hair. "I'll watch out for ya, gotta get some stuff first."

The Japanese nodded in a similar fashion. "Yeah....thanks."

"...kick his ass?"

"Surely."

"Just remember that he WON'T be sensitive to your family jewels...."

"And you aren't?"

Nina grinned proudly before turning around and sauntering off, discreetly ignoring the Tekkenshu marching past her.

She had just made it to the much shaded parking, inch by inch of the hangar's exterior filled up with countless people awaiting the exciting match to begin, causing her discretion to be further noted.

"Aww, shit."

"Kazama Jin is present and accounted for, sir," noted a Tekkenshu to his microphone, eyeing Jin as he walked casually towards his opponent with his hands in his pockets, once again with difficulty from his gloves.

"Wonderful." Heihachi said extra dryly from the other side of the mike.

"Oh, yes, there's also..." he scanned the area for any sign of the blonde woman speaking to Jin earlier.

"...what is it?"

"....never mind, sir. Over 'n out."

"Hear that, fellas?" smiled the old man after turning a red knob on his control panel, "Daddy's home. Who wants to play with the new toy?"

The Tekkenshu facing him cheered and applauded; their form of "HELL YES!".

Their leader cracked his knuckles. "Well then, let's set up the playhouse!" The horde followed that by marching extravagantly out of the room to prepare for their fun time with the "playmate".

Get up...

Julia shifted (as well as she could) and groaned, wishing for a dreamless sleep, yet in vain.

__

Wake up...it's time to get up, Julia...

She groaned again.

__

It's time for you to leave...wake up...

Julia lost her patience with the dark, gloomy voice that spoke to her, and fluttered her eyes open to banish it from her mind.

Everything was a haze...even after blinking, rubbing her eyes several times, and simply staring into space for a few seconds, everything was still a blur.

After a few minutes, she eventually came to, relieved that her vision was actually not impaired by the drugs. 

She looked around her cubicle. The cot was built into the wall, consisting of a single, plain white pillow, blue quilt, and a small ventilation shaft built into the enclosed ceiling. A small silver toilet was walled-in in the exact fashion of the bed, though no sink accompanied it. Her glasses were dumped on the floor beside the cot, one lens broken. 

As she picked them up, she noticed the steel sliding door, which, obviously, restricted her to this room.

"...Uh?"

Julia scratched her head and readjusted her eyes to the door, which had been slid open.

Ah, hell, the drugs had probably affected her eyes after all.

She wanted to check it out, anyway.

Excited, eager and curious, she slid off her cot, right before she let out a loud yelp and dropped to the floor.

She moaned, clinging desperately to the bed to pull herself up to a standing position...no use.

"No...this can't be happening! Ugh, why me..."

Her legs were marshmallows. They were immoveable, courtesy of the drugs.

She looked through the doorway...

*************************************************************

"Jin Kazama....versus... Marshall Law!" announced a Tekkenshu with excitement, as Law flexed his muscles and Jin groggily got into his fighting stance. The shrill cry of a whistle indicated the start of an exciting new match.

With some cheers as well as boos from the crowd, it was speculated by the majority that the match had gone to Marshall. 

Law's knee met four times with Jin's chin, causing him to tumble forward. His quick ascent to the pavement sped up even more when he felt Law's already sweaty arms tighten around his neck and slam his body down. Jin wasn't going to be very successful from the looks of it.

*************************************************************

"Shit! Shit, shit, shit! Ugh!" Nina threw a fit at all her bad luck. She slumped and sighed, wondering how Jin would fare without her supervision and how things could get worse. He had already won a tournament and had proven his skills were unmatched, but he didn't look like he could concentrate this time.

"Do you mind, lady?" she managed to hear a male-voiced complaint arise from the reasonably noisy crowd, "Law's kickin' ass here!"

__

Oh, no.

"Oh, fuck!" exclaimed Nina. She pushed the complainer to the ground, ignoring his "Ow!" The back of the crowd didn't though. "Shhhh!" they told him.

She took a pair of binoculars from her neck, and tried to peer past the crowd to catch the details of the battle. 

Unfortunately, her already decent height coupled with the heels of her white boots couldn't compensate for the abnormally tall men blockading her vision.

The man, finding another reason to complain, stood up. "You little bitch! Oh, you're so gonna deserve THIS!" he warned, sending his fist in her direction.

Nina caught the incoming fist with her right hand without even turning to face the aggressor, twisting it ever so slightly per second. She continued standing on her heels while putting the binoculars to use with her left hand. The spectators' blocking of Nina's view began to infuriate her.

"Dammit! Move yer fat asses outta the way!" she commanded.

"Shut your damn trap!" and "Deal with it, lady! We got here first!" were only some of the responses she received, as "Ow, ow, ow..." from the man behind her echoed in the background.

"Oh, screw it all!" she concluded, yanking the man's arm away from her grip as she stormed off. "OW!" repeated the man, when Nina accidentally stepped on his foot as she walked away. The crowd silenced him with another "Shhhh!"

Nina backed herself to the outer hangar walls, honestly confused. It wasn't until the wall made a loud clanking noise that she realized she was standing right next to a drainpipe. She glanced up, then down. There was a pretty gigantic distance between up and down.

"Oh, I'm ready for a challenge."

She dashed to her car's trunk, pulling out a duffel bag to prepare for the impulsive decision she had just made.

The concrete was cold. Julia was fond of cold. She stopped for a moment to relax. For such a huge, rich, powerful company, the Mishima Zaibatsu looked like...well, it was hard to place a finger on that, but it didn't live up to its name or notoriety. 

The walls and ceilings were built of steel, as were the numerous doors with small caged windows. Dark blue placards hung at their sides with room numbers, interestingly lacking any Braille. The concrete floor prevented harmony with the other settings of the repetitive hallways, and it slightly annoyed Julia. Countless bright, circular bulbs remained fixed above her, not far from many noisy air vents.

Julia made all these observations as she slid and squirmed along the halls, her legs as good as amputated. Did she want to escape? Yes, she did. Was she trying to? No, she had no ability. But anything was better than staying locked up in a cell.

As the sound of faint chatter drew closer, Julia pulled herself up against the wall. She stared at the door next to her, which was propped open with a doorstop. She managed to open it enough to barely squeeze through.

The dark stalls, metal sinks, and urinals implied that this was a restroom. A men's restroom, but it would do.

Five sinks on a dark blue counter were all lined up against the wall, each accompanied with a mirror of their own. Julia slithered towards the nearest one, collecting strewn about toilet paper on her jeans and shoes.

She removed her glasses, one lens broken, and cast them aside, turning the faucet for cold. She never cared for hot water, as the climate of Arizona had been scorching enough. She cupped it in her hands and let it run over her face. Hardly a remedy for all that she had just recently endured, but it was somewhat soothing. 

Julia slipped into a stall dry to dry her face with toilet paper, as the dryer had been to high for her legs to lift her. She was glad she made that decision.

Along came the merry, yet gruff, humming of old man Mishima.

"We're gonna have some fun tonight...hmm, what might this be?"

Julia cursed quietly. She forgot to take her glasses off of the counter!

"This is _highly_ suspicious..." blurted Heihachi through clenched teeth, "...feh, some moron at the research lab probably had an accident. Ah, well."

Julia stifled her heavy breathing as she heard a sharp crunch. The old man's jolly humming resumed as he made use of a nearby urinal and left abruptly. 

Jin managed to land an uppercut on the Chinese-American as the latter dashed for him. He yelped and stumbled back slightly, before growling loudly and kicking him fiercely in the chest. The impact forced him to stumble backwards, and his legs slammed down to the concrete, like the rest of his body, with a sharp thud. 

Jin had begun to hop up, if not for Law springing up on him and punching the living daylights of him.

The Japanese interrupted the American's succession of punches by grabbing his wrists, and pushing him to the side. They both hopped up simultaneously.

Jin took advantage of the nagging pain in Law's gut to deliver a sharp kick in his chin, and sent both fists at his cheeks. Another uppercut sent the American to the pavement. And, history repeated the last minute.

"Ahhh…fond…memories…"

Nina slowly hauled herself up the slim, slightly unstable drainpipe as she recollected her missions, back to when she was a powerful, (almost) unstoppable assassin. Scaling the sides of steep buildings was the easy part of it all.

Of course, it was four years since her last assignment, which required no scaling of steep buildings. Combining nineteen years of cryosleep, Nina hadn't climbed a building in over twenty years.

"Eh…no big deal…" she comforted herself, "if I'm still breaking bones, then, no biggie…" 

That culminated with the ex-assassin gasping, as she slid down the drainpipe 10 or 11 feet.

"That'll teach me to speak…" 

Nina stopped to catch her breath for a moment. The drop had given her a jolt. Nothing horrendous, however; she'd experienced greater dangers. She then felt a sudden adrenaline rush.

"No more stopping."

Nina let out a growl before vigorously resuming her venture up the drainpipe.

The stall door slid open. Julia peered cautiously before letting go of her breath. Her vision was now and forever hindered thanks to the loss of her glasses. 

"Son of a bitch," murmured Julia, as she sat against the wall. Heihachi had impaired her even further. "Ugh, what am I gonna do? How I am I gonna last?"

Then something hit her.

"That's it!" she chirped. Julia had placed contact lenses in her pockets when she changed to fight off Heihachi's men. She pulled them out, bearing protection with a small plastic bag, and delicately slipped them into her eyes.

Though her vision had now improved, Julia had her doubts.

"I won't be getting far in this tower at all…but I'll make it, far as I can…no problem…" Julia assured herself as she slithered out of the bathroom, making sure the coast was clear.

It was clear, all right. Suspiciously clear.

"Where IS everybody?" Julia asked herself. Not a single guard was in sight. The labyrinth-like halls were deserted. 

"What could be distracting them?"

The brunette knew very well that she was the last thing the Zaibatsu wanted gone, or, at least, one of the last. So why was nobody standing guard?

These questions only made Julia slither faster down the hall.

The distraction caused by Jin's lack of sleep had faded, and he was unleashing his might, full-force. The rising energy of the crowd helped immensely. 

He delivered a sharp kick to Law's chest. That followed with a fist to his cheek, then another with Jin's opposite hand. An uppercut sent his opponent tumbling to the ground.

While Law was downed, Jin (rather foolishly) seized the opportunity to scan the audience. 

Energetic men and women cheered, and a horde of fangirls fawned over the youth, but someone important seemed to be missing.

"Nina!" spat Jin into his microphone (using it for the first time) under his breath.

"Watch out, Jin!" warned a face from the crowd.

Too late. Before the Japanese had any time to react, Law managed a somersault, hitting Jin squarely in the face.

"Jin?" called Nina. She had heard a muffled noise calling into her microphone.

The climb was over. Nina had successfully made it to the hangar's rooftop.

She wiped sweat off her brow, taking time to sling her duffel bag off her shoulder and toss it to the side.

"This can't be good;" she thought worriedly, "judging by that sound, Jin's getting his balls handed to him. Better get to work."

Nina crawled carefully to her duffel bag. Not carefully enough.

"Whoa!"

She lost her balance and slipped off the roof…

Not quite. Her hands had gripped onto a gutter, and she was safe.

Not for long, however. Nina looked down, squirming in an attempt get back on the roof. 

"Long way from up here…" 

She swung forward, and gracefully flipped back onto the roof, wiping sweat from her forehead yet again.

"You owe me one, Kazama." 

Nina sprung to her duffel bag, holding it tightly, and pulled out some rope.

She stared at it thoughtfully for a moment.

"…Better make sure that doesn't happen again."

Acting quickly, Nina knotted one end of the rope around her leg, and the other around…

"Say…" she began, "What the hell am I gonna tie this around?"

She looked around. The roof of the hangar was vacant, excluding Nina, the rope, and her duffel bag.

"Ugh!" she grunted, slamming a fist down in frustration. "Ow!"

Her fist had been pricked by a large, sharp nail, standing erect.

"PERFECT!" she exclaimed, "…well, it won't hold for too long, but it'll do." She wasted no time in tying the other side of the rope around it.

"Now, back down to business."

The blonde pulled a pair of binoculars out of her bag, and scooted down to the edge of the roof to sneak a peak at the fight down below.

Nina watched as Law somersaulted twice, knocking Jin on his back. The Chinese-American continued his rampage by stomping on the youth's chest. 

Unphazed, Jin hopped up and dropped kick his attacker. Law managed to stay on his feet, and sent Jin to the ground again by bashing him in the gut with his knee.

"Oh, _shit_," cursed Nina again, before looking to her bag once more.

Julia was startled when the merry sounds of chatter and cheering approached her eyes.

She poked her head to the source of the noise. The room was full of guards, noisily watching a huge screen.

__

So that's where they've been all this time…what are they watching?

Even with the screen's large size, the clutter of guards and Julia's current disability prevented her from seeing the program.

Something clicked, though.

"Shouting…lots of shouting…" Julia thought silently to herself for a moment.

"Come on, Kazama, you can do better than that!" boomed one voice. "Don't let him beat you, Jin!" screeched several others.

"Jin!" gasped Julia.

Several of the guards' heads whirled around, and Julia turned her head out of the doorway.

She started to hear clanking footsteps protruding from inside the doorway, and her body froze. There was no way out. She couldn't move. 

Closer and closer they came. She felt as if she was being devoured whole. 

"Ahahahahaha!" cheered a guard, "Jin's on the verge of losing it!"

The footsteps then retreated back to mingle with the guards, and the merry laughter and conversation had resumed.

Julia sank against the wall. She had never been so petrified before.

She crawled past the doorway, and resumed her aimless wandering.

As the Zaibatsu guard had said, things weren't too hot for Jin. He'd been knocked down at least three times in a row, and had managed to intercept a punch from Law and fling his arm to the side, only to be greeted with another fist.

While Jin was dazed from the punch, Law grabbed Jin, and rolled him to the ground…

"Oh, god, he's gonna do it…" Nina cried worriedly from her view up top.

He did it. Law's fist made violent contact with Jin's most sensitive area, earning a large groan from the boy, and an "OOOOOOOH!" from all the spectators.

Law once again jumped on the downed Jin, and proceeded to pummel him into oblivion.

"God, I've gotta do something, or he's not gonna make it," Nina said firmly, returning once again to her duffel bag.

Pulling out a large sniper rifle, Nina grinned proudly. "Ah, there's my baby," she proclaimed, "I haven't used this in years." 

She (rather clumsily) aimed at her target, Marshall Law, with her binoculars, and placed the sniper rifle accordingly.

He was still punching Jin in the face, while he helplessly lay there, not moving a muscle.

"Damn, I hope Jin doesn't make this look obvious…"

Law stopped punching. He then began to slowly raise a fist. The final strike, it seemed.

Nina gasped and leapt forward, shooting the dart.

She had leapt a little too far. Over the edge she fell, praying the rope would do its job.

Law, in all acts of "randomness", cried out in pain. The dart had hit him in the arm.

Jin's eyes widened when he what happened, and, to avoid suspicion, punched Law off of him.

The Japanese stood up, and then slouched.

"The winner is…Jin Kazama!" exclaimed the watching Tekkenshu.

Cheers erupted from the crowd, and Jin breathed a sigh of relief. The fangirls crowded around Jin, exclaiming their never-ending pride and joy.

'Ugh, man…" Jin pushed past them, and they sighed dreamily.

It was finally over. No more fighting for a day. No thanks to him, though.

"Nina?" He gazed around. She was nowhere in sight.

"Uh…Jin? Little help here…" He turned around and jumped. Dangling upside down was none other than his female blonde partner, hanging just a few feet above the ground.

"What…happened to you?" Jin untied the knot on Nina's leg, caught her in his arms and placed her on her feet.

"I was savin' yer ass…wouldn't want Law takin' two a yer valuables now, would we?" Nina gave him a knowing wink.

Jin groaned. _That_ part was still sore. "…Thanks for your help," he said meekly.

Nina smiled in response. "Don't worry about it." 

Jin looked at Law, who was being carried off in a stretcher. Luckily, he nabbed the dart while all eyes were elsewhere.

"Is he…dead?" Jin asked, afraid. 

"No, no! No, no, no, no." Nina shook her head rapidly, causing Jin to breathe a sigh of relief. "It's only a tranquilizer."

She then pulled a small notebook (with an attached pencil) out of her pocket, and began writing.

"What's this?" Jin asked as soon as Nina handed him a slip of paper.

"It's my phone number," stated Nina, "I just thought that since we're "partners" and all…" she punched his arm playfully, "…that we should contact each other at the spur of the moment."

Jin nodded, contemplating her words.

"Eh, I gotta go. You should get out of here, before the Zaibatsu tries something. Call me!" and with that, Nina scurried off.

Jin thought about what Nina had said. He remembered seeing Julia, vulnerable and helpless, on that torture device. Heihachi, with his taunts and maniacal laughter.

Jin struggled to forget that painful experience and conceal his rage and walked off. He was oblivious to fact that Nina's phone number had slipped from his hand…

…and into the hand of a fangirl.

"Lookie, girls! I got his PHONE NUMBER!"

"No, I'm sorry, Jin doesn't live here…" Nina answered, confused, "Oh, that's okay." She hung up the phone and started to leave the room.

The phone rang.

She whirled around and picked it up.

"Yello?" greeted Nina enthusiastically.

"I-i-is JIN there? It's an EMERGENCY!" chirped a premature voice.

"Uh…no…this isn't the Kazama residence. Goodbye."

The phone was back on the hook when it rang again.

Nina groaned. "What?!"

"Jin…" began a voice.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" chirped Nina, "Jin and I are taking a shower together. We'll call you back later!" She slammed the phone down.

"GOD!"

Once again, it rung.

Only this time, Nina ripped it off the wall and flung it at another, causing it to burst into little pieces. 

"What is the DEAL?!" Nina complained, "I'm getting to the bottom of this."

Jin drearily mopped his tiled floor. Blood from his face had dripped onto it upon his arrival home.

"There we go," Jin stood the mop against the wall and observed the wet floor. Thinking of earlier in the day, Jin looked to his bedroom.

"Eh, I'll take Nina's advice later…"

He plopped down on the nearby sofa, and drifted of to Dream land.

A few minutes later, Jin jumped up. A strange, nails-on-a-chalkboard noise had interrupted his slumber. He watched the door. The knob was turning ever so slightly.

Jin stood up, and assumed his fighting position.

The door burst open.

Standing in the doorway was a frightening woman in a white dress. Her hair was black, and it covered her face.

She walked slowly towards Jin, that sound still ringing in his ears. He backed away.

Then he stopped, looking confused.

Determined, the strange woman walked closer towards him…before slipping and falling on the wet floor.

"Ow!" cried the woman, pulling off her wig and rubbing her sore behind.

"Nina, what the hell are you doing?!" Jin asked, before bursting into laughter. The first time he'd laughed since everything began.

"Well…" Nina ripped off her white dress (to reveal her purple suit) and turned off the tape player she was using.

"Why the hell did YOU give my phone number to a bunch of horny bitches who are after you?!" fumed Nina.

"I-I didn't give your number to anyone…"

"Whatever. Somehow, they knew."

"Uh…" Jin scratched his head, "so, what's with the getup?"

"Oh…I just wanted to scare you." Nina explained, calming down.

"Okay…is that _all_ you're here for? I'm really not in the mood for fun and games." Jin shook his head, rubbing his eyes. Blood from his remaining wounds stained his fingers.

"I came to talk business…" Nina started, "but look, Jin, you need a shower, badly. You got the shit beat outta ya. Go clean up."

"I really don't…" Jin began.

"Go take one." insisted Nina.

"I-"

"GO." Nina pointed a determined finger to the hall. 

Jin shrugged. "Okay, whatever. Just wait here."

Nina sat patiently as Jin headed out of sight.

"A phone…" Julia's eyes shined. Her aimless wandering had paid off. In a random office, a phone sat. Julia wiggled her way into the room.

Since the phone was sitting on the desk, Julia struggled. She sat up as much as she could, with minor pain, but managed to pull it down.

A loud alarm rang at that moment.

"Attention everyone!" began a voice on the PA system, "It's an emergency! Julia Chang has escaped! Stop what you're doing and search for her, NOW!"

Undeterred, Julia dialed Jin's number. She just wanted to talk to him, hear his voice…anything.

"Well…well…" 

Julia spun around, dropping the phone.

Her tormentor, Heihachi, stood in the doorway. "Come to pay your Uncle Heihachi a visit?" he smiled sickeningly.

******************************************************************

The phone at Jin's house suddenly rang, breaking the silence in the living room.

Nina hopped up to answer it. "It better not be a fangirl," she warned.

"Hello?" She mimicked Jin's deep voice.

No answer.

"Hello…?" Nina resumed her normal voice.

Silence.

Nina shrugged and placed the phone on the hook.

A/N: WOW, it feels good to be done. I hope the length doesn't bore you all…:/ And the part at the end was dedicated to my friend, Taostrife, who is a huge The Ring fan. Love ya, Jenny!

Mako


	5. Dirty Blood, Chapter five

Dirty Blood

**Chapter Five**

"Who was that?" inquired Jin from his oaken hallway, clad only in a beige robe.

"Can't say as I know," Nina replied, "There was a helluva lot of noise on the other side, though. It was pretty incoherent."

The Japanese youth shrugged in response. "Anyway…" he began, "you mentioned business."

"Oh, that's right!" Nina had spaced out the reason she was there. "I forgot I came to talk shop…my laptop's in the Saturn. Be right back!"

Jin shook his head as his partner speed-walked out the door.

* * *

"Now, how could she have escaped?" Heihachi pondered alongside a Zaibatsu scientist. This question triggered her wake.

A red light had greeted Julia's now-opened eyes. Restrained on a gurney by cuffs, she was in a small laboratory, illuminated red entirely by the aforementioned light. It gave her the feeling of a photo lab. Several small computers, medicine chests, counters, and assorted equipment took residence in the room. She quickly closed her eyes, so as not to alert the attention of Heihachi or the scientist.

"I haven't a clue, sir. Could she have perhaps…stolen the keys off one of your guards when the opportunity to accomplish such a task had arisen?" suggested the scientist.

The Zaibatsu owner sighed in frustration. "No, you verbose moron. Her cell door is activated by a keypad!" snapped Heihachi, sparking a huff from the scientist.

The old man paced back and forth. "You know…" he thought aloud, "Heiro Kino did have a few beers before his shift tonight, as that alcohol test I arranged can attest to. His shift was on the floor of Chang's cell..." He turned suddenly to the scientist.

"Hey, Professor Chiba…" addressed Heihachi, revealing the scientist's name, "you think that Chang….I don't know, seduced Kino into letting her out before passing out or something?"

Julia stifled an intensely disgusted scoff at the suggestion.

"Doubtful, sir," Chiba began, "Heiro Kino's unconscious body was too far away from Miss Chang's cell; it's likely he passed out before even reaching her. Besides, even if your theory were correct, Chang would've been unable to move his body with her condition…and there would be little point in simply dumping him there anyway."

"Well, then…I suppose you're right," Heihachi settled for his deductions. "And all the other guards on that floor were unconscious too…with little or no presence of any alcohol in their systems…oh." Heihachi's face grew an unsettling expression.

"Sir?" asked Chiba, slightly unsettled from the look on his face.

"I think I know the cause of all this," stated Heihachi coolly, his expression intensifying, "and I think I'm gonna go deal with it." Heihachi proceeded to abruptly leave the lab, only to be halted by one of his soldiers.

"Sir!" he shouted.

"Yes?" growled Heihachi impatiently, "what is it?"

"I am letting you know that the homing operation you had set up is working quite nicely," informed the soldier.

Heihachi folded his arms. "Tell me more," he ordered.

"Well," he began, "we had Tomoya Motoki inserted a tracking device under the car of Kazama's blonde friend, whom we identified as Nina Williams. Fluids found in Marshall Law's body indicate he was shot by a tranquilizer dart, which we believe is her doing. Tomoya is following her directly, but we placed the tracker under her vehicle for backup purposes."

_Williams? _thought Heihachi. _Just what is her interest in all this? She doesn't still have it in for me, does she? _

"Uh, I see!" Heihachi snapped back to reality, "and where was she while you pulled this off?"

"She was on the roof of the hangar, executing her stunt with her tranquilizer gun." He answered.

"And why didn't you try to directly track Kazama?" questioned Heihachi.

"Well, sir, Kazama took the bus home, accompanied by a large crowd. Trying to track him would've looked too suspicious." answered the soldier.

"That's understandable," noted Heihachi," anyways, go on."

"Yes, sir. Tomoya tracked Williams to her home, where she was overwhelmed by a small crowd of girls. After shooing them, she left her home with, for unknown reasons, a white sheet and a black wig."

Heihachi raised a brow. "And where is she now?"

"She…is at Kazama's house, sir. He has been living in a house nestled in the mountains. Tomoya parked his van in the cover of trees and is currently spying on them. From his vantage point, Tomoya states that Williams has gotten into her car, and Kazama is alone in his house. The coordinates are locked." The soldier reported.

"Excellent!" Heihachi flashed a smile.

The soldier cleared his throat. "We await further orders from you, sir."

"Yes, yes, of course!" Heihachi spoke eagerly. "Contact Tomoya, and tell him to sneak inside the house. Williams might come back, so make sure he overhears their plans. And I know it's not part of the plan…but if he has the opportunity…make sure it is to be done."

"Sir?" the soldier looked curiously at the older man.

Heihachi cleared his throat. "If Kazama is alone, have Tomoya ambush him and bring him back to us. If Williams should intervene, Tomoya must dispose of her. Once again, I realize it's going against the plan…but if it works, we won't have to stall any longer, and we can draw this stupid tournament to a close. Remember…Tomoya must make sure Williams is gone before commencing this plan. Is that all clear?"

Julia bit her lip at that revelation, praying internally for Jin's safety. Worriment still nagged her, even though her faith in Jin's abilities was a powerful force.

"But sir…that could be dangerous," he warned, "are you sure Tomoya is ready?"

"If all goes according to plan, he will be." Heihachi found comfort in his confidence of Motoki Tomoya, refusing to think otherwise.

"Go now, quickly," ordered Heihachi, "there's not a moment to waste. And send a backup squad to Jin's location, just in case."

"Understand, sir," the soldier nodded once, and was off.

"Oh, and Professor Chiba?" called Heihachi.

"Y-yes!" Chiba jumped, surprised from the sudden addressing of his name.

"That wonderful muscle suppressant you used on Miss Chang…make more of it. It will be very useful in the approaching future."

Chiba nodded quickly. "Of course."

Heihachi sauntered off, flashing a twisted smile. _So, Nina Williams wants to play, too. _he thought. _This could only get better.

* * *

_

"Roger, over 'n out," whispered Tomoya into his mic.

From the side of Jin Kazama's home, he observed Nina Williams step into her silver Saturn. He discovered that Jin's bedroom window, which Tomoya was standing right next to, slid open easily. Luckily for him, it bordered the living room that Jin happened to be occupying. His capture was about to begin. Smiling, he held up an electroshock rifle and slowly opened the window.

* * *

"Where is that frickin' laptop! I _know_ I didn't leave it at home…just hope those stupid bitches didn't...ugh!" Nina screeched in irritation over her missing laptop. Placing her keys on the driver's seat, she widened her search to the back, squeezing in between seats.

"Gotcha!" she grabbed the laptop from under the backseat. Her excitement, as well as her struggle to fit through, however, had caused her feet to jerk, knocking the keys out of the car. She sighed, squeezing back through the two front seats. She placed the laptop where her keys had been, and crawled backwards out of her seat to locate them.

She sighed again as she blindly fingered around under the car, feeling only gravel. She decided that lowering her head and using her eyes to assist the search would lead to a better outcome.

As soon as Nina lowered her head to the ground, she noticed a faint green light emitting from under her Saturn. Curiously (and rather impulsively), she ripped the source of the light from under her vehicle.

She peered at it, and, to her horror, noticed a radar on the small device. This could only mean one thing!

"Motherf-"

* * *

Tomoya Motoki, slipping through the window with the utmost of caution, surveyed Jin Kazama's simple bedroom. It consisted of a King-sized bed with a wooden frame, a mirror over a chest of drawers, a large oak cabinet, and a nightstand on which a lamp rested.

"How annoyingly primitive," remarked Tomoya, carelessly allowing his stun gun to slip down to the (also) wooden floor.

Jin's head wheeled back at the sound of a loud thud in his bedroom. Intensely curious, he ignored the loudly ringing phone as he ventured to the site of the noise.

Nothing appeared unusual from the archway of his room.

He crept further in. Something caught his eye in the mirror…crouched down by his bed…

Jin spun around to react, but was immediately greeted with thousands of volts of electricity.

He collided to the floor, causing the lamp on his nightstand to also fall and shatter.

Tomoya smiled from his loosely-fitting helmet. "And_ this_ is the so-called mighty warrior that conquered Toshin?" He sighed incredulously, and hoisted the unconscious youth over his right shoulder.

"Oh, well," he said, "least I can use the front door."

As he did just that, he found out that doing that was a tragic mistake.

* * *

His eyes widened in surprise to find Nina Williams flying straight at him feet first, Beatrix Kiddo-style.

The impact upon Nina's heel connecting with his chest caused Tomoya to drop Jin, his taser, and sent his helmet flying.

He did not go flying, though, as Nina's hand was gripped tightly to his right leg.

With a grunt, and all her might, she pulled back, causing it to snap! Tomoya yelped. Nina had yet to be finished, though.

She crossed his left leg with his fractured right, and turned him over to his back. He bit his lip, bracing himself for what was about to happen.

With even more force than before, she broke both of his legs, in turn making him emit an even louder cry.

She got up and left her helpless victim, seeing her Japanese partner sprawled on the floor.

"Jin!" she called, before lifting his head up. "Damn," she observed, "what did he do to ya?"

She picked up his heavy form and gingerly put him to rest on the nearest couch.

By that time, the wounded Tomoya had crawled to a corner nearest to his taser, hoping to blast his attacker before it was too late.

But it was.

Nina was hovering over him already.

She shook her head, and the last thing he saw before blackness was the bottom of Nina's black leather boot swiftly advancing on his face.

* * *

"You've returned to us," greeted Nina as Tomoya's eyes came into focus. The throbbing pain in his legs had reminded him that she had just broken them. This also sparked the realization that Tomoya was tied to a dining chair.

"Man," Nina continued, "Jin's still out. You shocked 'im pretty good."

Tomoya noticed the taser on a counter, desperately thinking of a way to retrieve it and blast the hell out of her.

The blonde, however, had traced his stare and seemingly read his mind, as she picked up the rifle.

"Now, now…if I wanted to fight anymore, you would've realized by already being dead." She informed him.

"This is a neat little toy," she remarked, holding the rifle in the air, "you should tell me where you bought it."

She suddenly dropped the rifle very violently.

"Okay, I'm sick of beating around the bush. What the hell are you doing here? Judging by the very sloppy job you did of disabling Jin and then, well…getting your ass kicked so very hardly by yours truly…you're obviously NOT here to try and capture him." She told him. Tomoya stared angrily at his captor.

She held up the tracer, now smashed. "Looks like you were following me, but hey, guess it's not happenin' anymore."

At this point, Tomoya flashed a grin. "Maybe not…but do you take me as completely incapable?" his grin broadened.

She looked at him suddenly, slightly nervous. He fed off of that.

"You may have destroyed that, but it won't help you. If you surrender when the dozens of backup arrive, I'm sure they...actually, I'm sure they probably won't kill you any less." His grin blended into a grimace.

He spoke no further, and she stared blankly at him. The meaning of his words slowly engrained themselves in her brain.

Without a moment's hesitation, she fiercely sent her fist into his face. The chair toppled over and he, once again, slipped into unconsciousness. Following that, Nina heard a moan echo in the other side of the room.

She hurried over to the couch to find Jin revived. She forced a tiny smile.

"Nina?" he started to recognize the blonde in front of him.

"Hey," she greeted quickly, "Jin, there's not a lot of time."

Still slightly dazed, he looked around, and noticed the figure tied to an overturned chair. "Who's that?" he asked.

"Jin…"

Jin looked at Nina, her face abnormally serious.

"Pack a bag."

* * *

A/N: Well, as usual, Namco owns their respective characters (Jin, Nina, Heihachi, etc.) and I own my original ones. Thanks fer tunin' in. 


	6. Dirty Blood, Chapter 6

Wow…it's been three years. I wonder if there's even an interest base for this story anymore. Life's been turmoily; I've suffered a lot of grief in the last couple of years, and that turned away my interest in the story until now. Man, I've been doing some growing up since I wrote this story…I'd like to revise the previous chapters and add a little bit of maturity because that stuff I wrote when I was thirteen makes me cringe… but that can come later. Here you guys go….those of you still left! Oh, and Namco owns their respective things.

**Chapter Six**

"…can't move…" the Asian gasped in a fruitless attempt to motivate his muscles. His blond bodyguard widened her eyes in response.

"What? Why?!" Nina surveyed Jin's stiff form on the couch, his physical capabilities reduced to simply breathing, blinking, and less-than-slight turns of his head. Though not his fault, he looked pathetic in his incapacitated state. She stood up in frustration, pacing about.

"Jin, why are you doing this to me?! This isn't funny! You're making my job so much harder! What have I ever done to you?! …well, besides try to kill you in the third tournament…even though I had no free will or anything…damn!" With the misguided blame out of her system, she returned her focus to the problem at hand.

"I'll get us out of this. We gotta book it."

The assassin was granted no such action as a lightly armored figure crashed through the living room window and pounced on her. Her attempt to return to a neutral position was halted with a fist to the back of her head. She was spared the defeat of a blast from his stun gun when the radio unit built in to his helmet went off.

Jin, who had witnessed the attack from his helpless position, suddenly felt a fire beneath his jellied muscles starting to brew.

"Nishimura, do you read?" a faint Japanese voice startled the armored assailant. The backup unit heading up the mountain lost the tracking signal they had been following during their pursuit. The blip on the radar screen had vanished.

Nishimura, the Tekkenshu who had ambushed Nina earlier, responded, keeping a sharp eye and his weapon trained on the assassin. She began to rise on all fours, trembling from the sudden blow. "I read. Little busy here… where the hell are you?"

"Lost. Tracer signal disappeared."

"Williams probably deactivated it…hold on…" still taking care to keep his eyes where they needed to be, Nishimura twisted an almost invisible button on the upper left side of his armor plate, which soon flashed a dim, but distinct green light.

Nina stressed as he fiddled with his armor contraptions. All she needed was _one_ nanosecond of weakness, distraction, anything, and she could disarm him without a scratch.

The inner flames inside Jin rushed to all corners of his body, prompting faint gasps and gulps that the other two presences in the room were too preoccupied to notice. _No…not now!_

Whenever this fire started its frenzy, the youth would summon all willpower, human emotion, and sometimes memories of his mother and girlfriend to successfully extinguish it. But now, in his increasing despair and physical helplessness, such a hydrant was absent. His fires would consume him now. They coursed to his forehead, branding their unholy mark.

And Jin was gone.

--

"There," confirmed Nishimura, "not as if it's difficult to find his location, since the damn path only goes one way. But do be prompt…they're both neutralized, but only for the time being."

"Understand." The other unit signed off. Nina was now sitting up on all fours, facing the soldier with a piercing optical message of _You-will-regret-that_. Nishimura's finger was eager to finish off the currently vengeful assassin. He thought of the major promotion that would inevitably result from his single-handed victory. Nothing was going to ruin this.

Except for the stun rifle yanking itself from Nishimura's grip and floating several feet above his reach. It proceeded to disassemble itself immediately after.

"What…" Nishimura zipped 180 degrees to his right. There was Jin's Devil side, in all his winged, tattooed, dark (as well as now naked, as his robe had slipped off) magnificence, hovering in the air. His demonic eyes alone were enough for Nishimura's body to feel contentless. He suddenly felt the very ominous feeling of being really, reallyscrewed.

His fears had been confirmed by his being thrust into the wall by Nina's palms.

He didn't even have time to slide onto the floor. The fires raging inside Jin's body manifested physically as pure red energy beams released themselves from his eyes to invoke their fury upon Nishimura. His minimal chest plate proved to be inadequate protection as the lasers seared through. Energy enveloped his entire body, causing him to spasm violently while making vibrated cries of pain.

When the beams had run their course, a well-done Nishimura lay slumped against the wall.

The whole time, Nina stared awe-struck at her client's still floating alter ego with a mixture of fascination and disbelief, then turned to the ultra-crispy corpse of the soldier.

"Cooool…" _This guy needs _me_ to protect him?_

She tensed initially, nervous that this half of Jin was indiscriminate in his victims. Though not beautiful by any means, this demonic side of the reserved Jin Kazama still held its weight in grandeur, and of course, power.

Never in her twenty-seven years of non-cryogenic existence had she been witness to such a spectacle. The markings on his chest, forehead, and legs, the horns, the glorious black wings, and especially the soulless eyes took Nina's breath away. She then felt a complacent notion that the mission she had signed on to was about to become a lot easier.

That is, until the sudden halation of an archetypical white light suddenly erased said features. The remaining symbols on his forehead vanished, and the now-normal Jin's unconscious body fell onto the couch.

"…God dammit."

--

Jin gasped as his body jerked forward and back into the realm of consciousness. He relaxed any initial alertness upon hastily making the realization that he was in the passenger seat of Nina's car. His body was ironically frigid inside, the way it usually felt after the hellish flames of his Devil side had subsided into dormancy. He found it actually refreshing in the midst of all that he endured during the day.

He was clad in a black wife-beater and black-and-white dragon slacks. Nina had obviously taken the time to quickly dress him while unconscious. His face flushed at the embarrassing thought of how that event had to have come about.

"Welcome back." said Nina, eyes fixated on the road. With no trees in sight and the mountains a fair distance from them, Jin concluded that they were on the expressway heading towards the city. It had to have been a while since his last contact with the waking world.

"How long…"

"'Bout two-and-a-half hours," Nina answered. Her dress shirt was saturated with sweat, and she definitely wasn't emanating the energetic, ready-for-anything vibe he had usually felt in her presence.

Despite the rest of his body cooling off from the possession, a burning sensation was still active in his forehead, the site where it always seemed to concentrate the most. He placed a hand over the throbbing spot and started exhaling softly; an attempt at pain relief he found himself doing even in its obvious futility.

"Did I miss anything even more-adrenaline pumping in those two-and-a-half-hours?"

Nina turned her head to look at him incredulously, and then returned her focus to the road ahead.

"Well, after Mishima Zaibatsu Crony Number Two knocked me down, you passed out. Then you turned into a demon and fried him. Then you passed out again. We escaped your little mountain getaway in my car through a back-route while your grandfather's men caught up to us and opened fire. I managed to snipe a few of them out while simultaneously navigating through a thick forest on a rocky, thin mountain trail in my shitty Saturn because I am just that badass.

"Then after that, even MORE reinforcements caught up and decided to try and kill us. Unfortunately, they didn't possess said badass quality and crashed into a tree after I shot their wheels out. Why they didn't think to do that to me, I can never say. So, after suppressing a mild coronary I got us onto the freeway, where we are presently navigating."

Jin was winded simply listening to her explanation.

"So, you didn't miss that much, really." She concluded.

Jin was silent and wide-eyed for a few seconds, before breaking it with "…Oh."

"Just a typical day in the office, I suppose. I've been through worse."

"I can imagine."

"So the rumors are true." Nina observed.

"I…beg your pardon?" Jin was taken aback by this sudden, random question.

"You've got the Devil inside you…I always wondered what everybody else was talking about…your survival in the third Tournament. Huh. That's pretty god damn surreal, now that I think of it."

Jin skipped a few beats with silence yet again, looking aimlessly out the window. "Heh."

"I take it that's not your favorite gene. Saved our asses back there, that's for sure."

Silence again from Jin's end. This time, it stuck.

"I figured it was just mass paranoia. Back twenty years ago, I didn't ever believe that your father-"

"Shut up." The ferocity Jin managed to project in his calm tone was somewhat alarming to the assassin.

"You know, I really _don't_ have to be risking my ass to help rescue Julia's and protect yours."

"You're right…I'm sorry." Jin apologizing threw Nina off guard even more. He sighed. "Just…about…him…don't. Please." He felt his Devil-induced headache ameliorating.

"I can imagine it's hard. Just understand…he probably wouldn't have turned out the way he did if not for Heihachi-"

"I said don't."

Nina shrugged her shoulders, and silence dominated the vehicle once more.

Jin was, however, internally puzzled. _Why is she trying to defend him? _It was a weird thought, but Jin was preoccupied with it. Surely it wasn't _that_ peculiar. He quickly grew uncomfortable with his train of thought.

Fortunately for him, Nina broke the silence. "So what are you planning to do after you've got her back?"

Jin hadn't really thought about it, surprisingly. He was invested in the now. "I…I will…take care of her. I will do everything I can for her. I owe it to her."

"Well," Nina began, "don't do it because you feel you have to…even though I say, yeah, you probably do have to…"

"I just don't know….I haven't told her about…my other half."

"Oooh. That's bad. That's really bad."

"Yeah…"

"Well…you might as well tell her right after you book your honeymoon at Shit Creek."

"Heh."

"Aw, I'm sure it won't be so bad. She isn't superficial like that. Perhaps she's already been informed. I mean, she would have to wonder why he's after you."

Jin was silent again.

"Anyway, Jin… your grandfather has definitely gotten impatient with waiting to confront you through the Tournament. It might not be a good idea to actually participate anymore. His men bugged my car right after today's match, and I went to my apartment right after, so staying there isn't going to be an option anymore."

His stare finally broke away from the window and back at the assassin. "So what do we do?"

"We go to my second apartment."

--

"That's enough for now." Heihachi turned to his guard, who twisted a dial on a control panel.

Julia's tortured screams as the electric volts coursing through her were reduced to patterned breaths and gasps. Her body writhed in agony. Being cuffed against the wall offered no opportunity to calm it down.

Somehow, amidst her excruciation, she had noticed that her captor didn't seem to derive the usual pleasure from the act of punishing that he usually did.

"Mishima-san!"

With no energy to lift her head, Julia aurally identified the voice as Dr. Chiba. She grimaced, internally wishing for _his _retribution almost as much as Heihachi's.

"Yes, what is it?" Heihachi spoke to the man in Japanese.

"We've managed to strengthen the muscle suppressant. Is she ready for it?"

His employer shook his head. "No. There isn't any point. Nothing is giving me much joy today, I'm afraid."

Chiba took a peek at Julia's withering form. "I see. I take it the operation failed."

"Yes. I am happy you managed to develop it further, though. It should prove useful, and not just on Chang."

"Well, Mishima-san, I'm only doing what you pay me for."

"It pleases me to have you, Doctor. You've been an exemplary replacement. Dr. Abel won't be able to hide from us forever. The Genocell data he took is invaluable to me."

Chiba's eyes narrowed. _Is that so…_

"Oh, don't worry. You'll still keep your position when I find him. Hopefully you'll have developed sufficient nerve modification technology by then."

"But of course."

"Dismissed, Chiba." The doctor nodded once and took his presence elsewhere.

With nothing else to focus on, Heihachi turned to his suffering captive. She refused eye contact.

"Well, Julia…you may be pleased to know that your boyfriend and his little partner managed to outwit some of my bumbling forces. Those who are still alive will be fired, believe you me. How they could be so incompetent is beyond me. So, they're out of sight. Rest assured that it won't stay that way, however."

She smiled to herself. _He's safe…I knew he wouldn't go down so easily._

Heihachi pulled a metal folding chair away from the control panel and sat down, intent on having a twisted one-on-one with Julia. He clasped his hands together and rested his arms on his knees.

"So yes, torturing you right now isn't giving me the usual satisfaction on account of my being slightly angry. I have to admit, it _is_ my fault for being so impulsive. But all isn't lost. We'll both get to see him again soon. Even if I have to tear this whole country apart to find him. And if that is unsuccessful, I'm sure he'll find his way here."

"He's not going to kill you." Julia stated abruptly. Heihachi was surprised at her reaction, and a smirk accentuated his rugged face.

"You're right about that. He'll certainly try, though. But I'm sure that Mommy won't be sending him visions in the nick of time this time around."

"He won't make in time."

Heihachi was both amused and confused by the girl's statements. "I'm so flattered that you have such faith in my forces, Julia. Least you're a realist."

Julia pulled together her energy to lift her head and willed herself to stare directly at the revolting sentient creature sitting before her.

"He won't make it because by the time he comes for me, I'll have already killed you myself."

Her eyes engraved themselves into him with the most genuine determination and loathing he had ever seen. She had expected him to start guffawing at her display of anger. She didn't care.

But he didn't.

His smirk vanished quickly. She had managed to hit a nerve. How, she had no idea.

"We're done here," he sneered, enunciating each consonant with disgust. He got up and left, presumably to retrieve personnel to take her back to her cell.

Julia felt slightly better after that slight victory. After all she had endured, she felt as if her brain would malfunction and turn her into a vegetable. She was clinging to life by a thin sheet.

The spirits had apparently helped her before, even though her attempt at an escape had failed. She had felt stupid for attempting to navigate such a gargantuan complex while paralyzed from the waist down.

But they would help her again. And Jin _would_ come for her. And he wasn't alone, either. Still, it didn't entirely ease her worry that something could go wrong.

As hope and despair waged war in her mind, she passed out from exhaustion.

--

Well, it's nice to be back after three years. I want to kick myself for taking this long, though. I'm still attempting to get back into the writing niche after abandoning it for so long, so do forgive if this chapter was a little boring. After a short break, I'm off to revise the first five chapters. Peace out!


	7. Dirty Blood, Chapter 7

Non-original persons copyright Namco.

**Chapter Seven**

"Bienvenue a Chez Nina. Leave your soul, conscience and anything else that's still pure a few miles back."

Jin launched a thorough visual investigation at his new, visually stunning temporary residence. Full-length windows stood as a testament to the nighttime glory of the city beyond. Polished wood floors, a high-definition widescreen television set, priceless china perched atop equally valuable end tables, and the entire roof of the building functioning as a balcony were just some of the perks Nina had accrued through her lucrative former livelihood. He was slightly incredulous of the fact that this luxury penthouse was only her _secondary_ apartment. He had also noticed a black Steinway baby grand piano in one corner.

"Wow…you play?" Jin asked, crossing the threshold fully.

Nina stretched her somewhat spent limbs, mindful of the laptop case she was carrying, "No, I just spent half a million yen on a piano for décor purposes. Y'know, since it was obviously lacking."

In all the pandemonium that had been their lives for the past several weeks, at least Nina's sarcasm was consistent.

"I just thought it was…kind of a happy coincidence that you play something, too."

"Oh, yeah?" Nina asked, mildly intrigued at this implication.

Jin nodded slightly, "Mmm. Guitar."

The look of intrigue on Nina's face melded into slight amazement. "That's pretty spiffy."

"Yeah, I'm sure it will be once I actually start playing. But now that my home has probably been ransacked and demolished, funding might be hard to come by." He welcomed himself to her couch.

Nina shrugged. "Well, it wasn't the _most_ splendid little pad out in the middle of nowhere in particular," she then yawned before suggesting, "perhaps you could start fresh."

The Asian shook his head. "It's not important. Once I get her back, I'll make sure I never have to see this country again."

Nina sat down on the arm of the couch, gingerly resting the laptop case at its side, "You don't like it here? Well, save for the trivial setback of your grandpappy and presumably every bounty hunter in the country out for your head-which, mind you, would probably be no different in any other country-what's not to like?"

"God…" Jin sighed, reclining slightly, "Japan, it's…great. Just…great. First, my home in Yakushima was burned to the ground and my mother was murdered by Toshin. Then after my grandfather shoots me between the eyes, I get lured into another damn tournament here, and now this…"

He sat up before continuing, "With excitement and suspense awaiting my life at every turn in Japan, who needs peace, contentment, and security?"

At a loss for a more appropriate response, Nina shrugged again. "It happens?"

"No. No, it really doesn't," Jin replied, rapidly shaking his head. The utter uniqueness of his life was not lost on him. "You know, I thought I was actually _homesick_ for this forsaken place when I was living in America with Julia…but I hate it. I hate Japan, I hate being Japanese, I hate the weather, I hate the culture, I hate-"

"Alright, I get it," interrupted Nina, "Jesus Christ, Jin. Don't collapse on that soapbox or anything."

Jin fell silent for a moment before offering a stiff "Sorry."

"Look. Everybody wants to leave the memories behind. For a strapping young stud such as yourself, you'd think the thing to do is leave behind the place where those memories happened." She then scooted off the arm of the couch and started pacing back and forth in front of Jin.

"Hell, I couldn't wait to get the hell out of Ireland after what happened there. Just being there was claustrophobic." Her pacing speed increased frantically, "and the fricking tourists! They just go off ALL the goddamn time about how beautiful and GREEN it is! Yeah, well, puke's green too!"

"…What?" came from a baffled Jin.

Nina's expression turned mortified upon the realization that she had gone off on a soapbox of her own, before modulating that expression into a goofy, wide-eyed, I-have-no-idea-what-you're-talking-about smile.

"…Nothing!" came her answer, "Anyway, as I was saying…getting away is only gonna do so much." She gingerly sat down on the wooden coffee table that stood parallel to the couch, for a face-to-face position with her houseguest.

"I mean, you can take the Engrish outta your accent, and unslant your eyes in plastic surgery all you want…but a pig's still gonna be a pig, even if you dress it up."

Jin, who had been staring down into his lap (a habit he had been accustomed to when listening to such speeches), suddenly darted his eyes towards the blonde.

"Is that supposed to be insightful, or deep, or something?" he asked icily.

"No, just true," she stated simply, "Escaping is only the first step. All this baggage that you're carrying, and what's to come, it's still gonna keep bugging you even after this ordeal is over, no matter where you run off to. You have to take care of it here and now, which you are. Honestly, do you think Julia's gonna to hate and avoid Arizona because that's where Heihachi snatched her?"

"I don't," said Jin, "she isn't like me. She's everything I'm not. That's why I love her." His eyes then retreated back to their previous downward position, his head following. "Can we not talk about this right now?"

"Suit yourself." Nina said concededly, "Alright. I've been attempting to hack into the Zaibatsu's database to see if I can find where they're holding your lovely, but no luck. Either my skills are just no match for their safeguards, or your gramps actually has a brain and opted not document his hostage, meaning we'll never be able to find their location with the resources we already have. Since I'm an optimist, I'm gonna go with B."

Jin scoffed at Nina's odd, narcissistic definition of optimism. "So, what exactly _can_ you find, then?"

"Well, not a lot. Buggers have hyper-encrypted most of their lines." Nina thought for a second, "the tournament website for one, but so can everybody. The schedule, locations, contestant profiles, their credit card numbers," she grinned widely at that notion. "I can't get a trace at all on where the information is feeding from. Same for all the other company websites. Heihachi is similarly elusive. Hasn't made any public appearances since the tournament began."

At that point, a fluorescent light started flickering on and off in Jin's brain. _I know something…what is it?_ Jin shut Nina out so he could grease the gears of his thought process.

"I _would_ say we try their main office in the city," Nina suggested, "but there's tons of casing to be done on that…"

The blonde got so absorbed in dissecting her strategy that she tuned out Jin from her attention span. Likewise, the latter became so wrapped up in his thought train that Nina had seemingly jumped off without his notice. Both presences in the room were soon unaware of each other as they deliberated to themselves. Nina again paced to and fro like a mad woman and rambled hastily aloud while Jin sat quietly on the couch and contemplated internally.

"I mean, I AM a master of stealth, so getting into the headquarters wouldn't be such a huge problem for me, but seeing as how Murphy seems to be on our side more than luck, we may need more than that, especially considering how danger prone _you _are…"

_I just wish I knew she was alive…I've been to a few Zaibatsu facilities, but I have to nail down…_

"Maybe it might be better to hit up one of their international locations. Since we've established our presence here in Japan, Heihachi's forces are likely to have their guard down elsewhere. With any luck, you could hulk out into Old Horny or, you know, trip on something and chain reaction the entire place into oblivion. I mean, stranger things have happened and-"

…_seems to be fixated on more stealthy, discreet methods of finding out where that bastard is holding her. My heart's racing, every second is costing-_

"-damn lazy contacts of mine aren't any good either! All of them slack off when it comes to any Zaibatsu 411! Though of course there was that one time-"

…_can't get too emotional, don't want it to take over again. Focus, damn it. Any little thing that comes up is good enough…_

"- COULD just muddle through the tourney and watch our backs till he coughs up the girl as a prize if you make it to the final round, but even if he does that, it's highly unlikely considering-"

…_their locations change all the time, but one place stays constant…_

"-probably all a trap though, he's using reverse psychology because it's been so damn hard to get any info, he's trying to catch us off guard because people only think it's a trap if things appear too easy so I mean, really, it's a double whammy-"

…_the high school. That's it. That's what I was trying to think of. There's gotta be some kind of data we can use there…_

Jin suddenly snapped back to the reality that he wasn't alone in the room, and sprang up from the couch. "Nina! We should investigate the Mishima Polytechnical School!"

But Nina wasn't having any of it. Jin was not even a blip on her radar. "-not likely, Kansas is probably too humid for his liking, even though nobody would suspect his operations-"

"Nina, listen-" Jin attempted to interject, "it's not very far from here at all…"

"-killer on my gas, though I haven't taken the jet OR the motorcycle for a spin in quite a while-"

"There's definitely something we can use," he suggested.

"-bodysuits are all ripped up, so if we ever had to head up there it might be risky business-"

"Nina, are you listening to me?" Jin was getting irked, "the school should be tied into a computer network of all of the Zaibatsu's main organizations! You could hack into it!"

"…so my frequent flyer miles would DEFINITELY come in handy if we ever needed them," concluded Nina, finally arriving at the last stop of her long-winded thought train.

"NINA!" he snapped, at the end of his rope.

"JIN!" shouted Nina, rejoining Jin in the reality sector, "I was thinking just now, and I've got a brilliant idea!"

"…what?" Jin asked, taken aback.

"We should investigate your old high school!" Nina revealed.

"…are you kidding me?" said Jin, exasperated.

"If I'm correct, it's only a short drive from where we are right now," she explained.

"Nina, that's what I've been trying to _tell_ you!"

"There is most certainly something that we can use there," she stated matter-of-factly.

"I _just_ said that."

"And if not, all the main Zaibatsu facilities are connected via a supercomputer!"

"Why do I even bother…" the Asian muttered.

"Just think of all the encrypted data out there just waiting for me to hack into!"

"Nina, I KNOW!"

"…Then why didn't you say anything?" inquired Nina, puzzled.

"Beats the hell outta me," responded Jin in defeat.

"This is great. I'm a frickin' genius," boasted Nina as she retrieved her laptop and typed away. The viability of the single plan the two had proposed separately had gotten to the young Asian at that point, and he sprang from the couch once more.

"Let's go do this!" he exclaimed, "We can't waste any time waiting for anything to fall in our laps!"

"Simmer down, cowboy. It's probably not good for either of us if you get too pumped up right now," advised Nina, "Anyway, I've got a better idea.

"Check this out." She rotated the laptop to accommodate Jin's line of perception.

"What are you looking at?" He squatted to take a closer peek.

"Well, I'm checking to see whose ass you're next scheduled to kick-or, pretend to kick while I actually do all the work."

"So, what? You're changing your mind? You think I should fight?"

"Well, I think at least extending your tournament participation to at least this one last appearance would work to our advantage." Nina continued typing intently.

The realization that Nina's train of thought was more or less impossible for anyone to jump on, he impatiently pressed, "Spill."

"One sec," insisted Nina, "Honestly, the Zaibatsu has more money than God and Allah combined. You'd think they'd use something a bit more eye-pleasing than a simple HTML table for the matchup listings…ah, there we go!" A screen of 0's and 1's popped up over the tournament table.

"I thought you were unable to hack into all this," Jin said, confused.

"Well, the tournament is sponsored by the Zaibatsu, but I assume someone's managing the website independently from the network. The webmaster doesn't even list his email on the site. No matter. Just gonna pull a little switcheroo…" Nina underwent a massive flurry of typing and clicking-and-dragging, "take this…put it here…bum dee dum…voila! Your next match is officially rescheduled for 2 o'clock tomorrow at the Mishima Polytechnical School."

"All right…" the young man still had no clue what message Nina was trying to convey, "so you want me to fight in the tournament _and _investigate the school? What's the point to that?

Nina attempted to clarify, "No no no, I just want you to fight."

"…so you don't want any investigating done."

"No, I do…"

"So one, then the other?"

"Jin," Nina said with as much patience as she could muster, "there's two of us."

"What, we're having tag matches now?" the young man was conflicted over whether he should feel stupid over his inability to maintain the same frequency as his confidante.

"Okay, _Anna_, listen carefully," she instructed, clearly stretched thin at this point, "you…will be _here_," she demonstrated by joining her hands in a dive position and swinging them to her left, "kicking ass or getting your ass kicked in the ONE-ON-ONE match."

Jin listened intently, patiently suppressing his resentment of Nina's patronizing approach.

"All the while _I_…will be here," she swung them to her right, "And during your duel, I will be simultaneously, synchronously, in tandem, concurrently, at the SAME TIME AS YOU…investigating the interior of the high school for information. Not you. Me. Not before. Not after. AT THE SAME TIME. THEN, we will come TOGETHER…" she spread her hands far apart, then clasped them together, "and discuss the findings. Now, is that clear enough, or am I gonna have to bust out the hand puppets?"

Jin blinked. "I get it…my fighting is supposed to be a diversion while you do everything else?"

"Give the man a prize," responded Nina flatly.

"You know, you could've just simply said that." He pointed out.

"I couldn't have been clearer!" exclaimed Nina, exasperated.

"Beg to differ. I figure you didn't want all that responsibility. But I think it's a solid plan." He complimented with all the enthusiasm of a corpse.

"You don't sound too pleased," she noted, tucking her laptop into its case.

"Every second that passes is too long," he lamented, sinking further into his familiar, comfortable sullen mode, "any measurement of time where I'm not actively doing something to fix this, it's just…" he let his sentiment hang.

Silence permeated the air for a brief moment.

Nina was unsure how to react, seeing as consoling words were about as foreign as a language could get for the former assassin. "…so anyway, while it's been a pale shadow of my finest hours, it's been a hell of a day."

Changing the subject was much more familiar territory.

"I'm calling it a night. When you decide that that's in your best interests, which it is, the guest bedroom is the second door on the right." Nina pointed to said door.

_Hmm…maybe a warm bed in a new place might help me get myself together…_ contemplated Jin.

"There should be a cabinet in there with fresh linens that will make your stay out here on the couch much more comfortable," she explained.

_Should've expected that…_

"Well, I'm going to treat my body to a bath, several cups of tea, then sleepy time. If you get knocked unconscious or anything, just holler. I'll only be a skimpy bathrobe away." She proceeded to retreat down the hallway.

"Nina?" he blurted.

The woman halted her advance, turning only her head in response.

Kazama was far from a social butterfly, as his transitional cocoon had all but calcified when Julia was taken away. Worse than that, he was a proud, proud individual. Not in the sense that he had anything to be proud of. Not that he had been solely able to care for himself for most of his life, save for two years preceding the fourth Tournament. In fact, he had mostly been looked after by women. Regardless, he very much resented having to seek anyone's help.

That was precisely why his next words were going to be as difficult as when he first requested her help in the first place. After a long pause, slight hesitation and little trepidation, Jin managed to utter: "Thanks…for everything. It means…a lot."

Nina took a pause of her own, recognizing Jin's gratitude with the most subtle of nods, and then disappeared to pursue her quest of bedtime wind-down.

Jin sighed, reflecting on the day's events. His love for Julia and sheer resolve aside, this was a battle he was currently not cut out for. Regardless of what was at stake, he could not overcome his overbearing hatred for himself and his heritage. Over the past three years he had been living in America, his once thick Japanese accent had gradually dissolved into that of a Japanese-American. He'd even forgotten a lot of his mother tongue. Nina, despite sharing similar sentiment over her own nationality, still retained her thick Irish accent.

His self-contempt was beginning to cripple him. The atrocities committed by his father and grandfather, his demonic alter ego, the attempts on his life…all of it had taken a toll on his self-worth. All that Julia had helped rebuild over their time together had collapsed the instant she was taken away, and Jin's negative self-image had only been exacerbated by his inability to protect her. He needed all the confidence he could get…and he had almost no will to get it. _This isn't about me…_

The young man shook his head in attempt to drive away his counter-productive thoughts. He was unsuccessful. _I think I'll have a look around. This place is going to be my home for a little while. Might as well get used to it._

The rest of Nina's apartment was just as awe-inspiring as the front room. The impressive bar-style kitchen (which shared the same space as the front area) with its smooth marble countertops, state-of-the-art gas top stove and a silver French door refrigerator started the tour. The main bathroom was twice as breath-taking with its (much to Jin's chagrin) traditional Japanese theme and décor, including an in-ground bath, shoji screen door, hanging paper lamps and various bamboo-framed portraits. Next was the guest bedroom, with a very inviting canopy bed as the standout feature.

Jin noticed a third door in the hallway following the doors to the bathroom and guest bedroom. His curiosity urged him to explore.

His decision did not disappoint.

Nina had a fully-equipped, spacious training and exercise room at her disposal. Blue mats covered most of the room, the center of which contained a balance beam and assorted gymnastic poles. A red punching bag was suspended from the ceiling nearby. One corner contained a treadmill and a weight station. Strewn about the floor were various padded guarding equipment, bullet-ridden targets and other paraphernalia.

Two armoires rested against one wall, and upon divulging their contents, the cursed youth found Nina's extensive weapons collection. Jin gazed upon several knives and daggers, Smith & Wesson model Magnums, Mini-Uzis, flash grenades, a Sniper rifle, an M16, several katanas, and various hi-tech espionage gadgets (whose functions he could not ascertain) were just some of the multitudes of hardware the retired hit woman had in her possession.

What stuck out most, however, was the major occupant of the remaining corner of the room: an indoor shooting range. Almost resembling a carnival shooting gallery, the steel mechanism contained several rows of targets, whose movements were adjustable by a small control panel on the machine. Jin noticed that the targets were essentially life-size cutouts depicting a brunette woman in a personalized qipao, with each target representing blue and red variants of the dress. The woman rang a bell with him, but he couldn't quite pin down who she was. He was unconcerned with identifying her anyway.

Jin felt a sense of security blanket his heart. Placing trust in Nina had seemed like a bankable investment. He finally, in that moment, took a brief reprieve from the constant fear and danger that had taken hold. All seemed well for a moment.

Wait.

No.

Something was amiss. Not completely right. What was it?

Oh, right.

_As long as he has her, there IS no comfort…how could I have been so complacent? So stupid! _"GAAH!" he manifested his rage into a fierce strike at the punching bag.

Bump. Bump. Bump. Pound. Pound. Pound.

That was it.

Nina had had enough. Whatever thumping noise had been preventing her much-deserved slumber had just thumped its last thump. She tossed aside her canopy bed's welcoming sheets and violently swung her room's French doors open with a mission.

Whatever rodent, busted pipe, Zaibatsu infiltrator, or noisy neighbor below her, hell was to be paid. Even if she was outnumbered; even if she was unarmed; even if she was only was only wearing a green long-sleeved nightshirt and blue-and-white plaid spankies, the source of the noise would be torn asunder by Nina Williams in a wink.

It seemed to be originating from the first door on the side of the hallway opposite the balcony. Mentally preparing herself for someone else's death, she opened the door to find…

…Jin. Her brooding charge was dealing intense, rapid blows to her training room's punching bag while retaining an expression of concentrated indifference.

"Oh wow, I forgot about this room," said Nina, surveying the room to refresh her memory.

"Did I disturb you?" Jin asked, seemingly more out of politeness than actual concern.

"Oh, not at all. I was just sleeping."

Despite Jin's utter lack of any semblance of an apology or intention to cease any of the commotion, Nina allowed her resentment to ease.

"You know, you've got a lot of pent-up tension. I should get you a hooker or something."

Jin's rhythm was momentarily disrupted by this proposition. Eyes still firmly fixed on the bag, he resumed his activity without hesitation.

"And…what, pray tell, would I do with a hooker?"

Nina shrugged. "Play Scrabble, maybe?"

Again, the young warrior demonstrated that the only thing that existed to him at this moment was the punching bag, or, at least, the predictable mental substitute he'd replaced it with.

"…I haven't laughed like that in a while," he uttered out of the blue, piercing the silence once more.

"…what?" Nina had zoned out due in combination to the lack of conversation and her own sleepiness.

"Earlier today," he clarified, not letting up with his exercise.

"Huh? Oh. Yeah. That." The sleep-deprived woman was anticipating that this comment was about to segue into a full-on marathon of moping.

"Throughout all this, I've been grasping for something-any kind of reprieve, and today…it felt good."

Despite having absolutely no idea what he was talking about, Nina already found it unbearable.

"That's, ummm…nice," she offered.

"But it's not, don't you get it? Whatever they're doing to her, everything she's been through…does she have a reprieve? Does she have any kind of breather from the hell she must be in?" Jin's already rapid tempo of punching started to accelerate.

_God, I can't stand this. If I even cared about anybody's drama I'd be watching Days of Our Lives…quick, make an excuse…_

"I, uh…have no idea," she confessed.

_What? The hell was that, Nina?_

"I wasn't able to protect her. Today, after all the rage I felt good, even for a just a second, then I felt glad that I was here…and I didn't deserve it. It's like I'm just disrespecting her! I shouldn't be allowed to feel relief…the guilt's tearing at me!"

_Do something! Tell him you're tired! Say you have better things to do! Tell him you don't give a rat's ass! You know, the truth! _

"Err, yeah…shame on you, or…something," she scolded empty-heartedly.

_What is WITH me? I'm usually really good at leaving when I get bored! He's gotta be using Devil powers or something. I want to leave, but something's keeping me listening to him whine…_

His speed increased yet again, showing no signs of fatigue, "At the same time, I-I can't stand feeling like this. No matter how I feel I'm getting her home…and that bastard will die, but I don't deserve not to have any solace either…"

Nina couldn't stand this any longer.

"Oh for Pete's sake, do you want a knife or something? So you jumped off your always-running doom-'n- gloom train for a second. What is the big deal? Are you so perpetually attracted to misery that you think the cosmos is going to implode the second you stop brooding? You really believe Julia would blame you for her getting taken? Do you think she willfully expects you to sulk and agonize every single breathing second until she's safe? Well, I guess she does…I mean anybody who _knows_ you expects that, because that's just what you DO…but anyway, do you think she WANTS you to? You're not gonna get many of these happy moments in this little adventure, so just TAKE 'em and stop philosophizing! GET OVER IT!"

Upon finishing, Nina instantly double-took. _That was odd. Did I actually just pay attention to what he was saying?_

Jin's unstoppable rhythm on the punching bag had just been completely derailed. A nerve had just been struck. He had reacted differently at various points in his life when being the subject of ridicule- this was one of the less positive instances. He stood rigidly facing the bag, immobilized with embarrassment from the verbal smackdown he was just exposed to.

"…did that help?" Nina asked with a tilt of her head, still somewhat bewildered by her own behavior, and honestly curious.

"I suppose it answered my question," Jin uttered, eyes still fixated on the punching bag. His momentum derailed, he resigned from sparring and faced the opposite wall, refusing to look at the other presence in the room.

"Great!" Nina chirped, almost immediately turning around to depart the training area and return to the embrace of her bed.

Except she didn't. Once again, some inexplicable force compelled her to remain in the room. _Damn it! Why does this keep happening?_

Save for barely audible panting coming from Jin, silence again held dominion for a moment.

"So…tired?" Nina's feeble attempt at conversation at least halted the quiet.

He simply shook his head once in reply, then spoke: "I haven't slept comfortably in days. Might as well do something productive."

_All you're producing is noise. _"I wouldn't exactly call late-night brooding sessions productive," Nina opined, folding her arms.

"I 'brood' no matter what I'm doing," he pointed out, "better to channel that energy in an active way than lay around and feel hopeless about it."

"Well, why don't you, you know…think of the positive memories or something like that?" After this suggestion, Nina leaned against the doorway, exhibiting slight nervous fidgets as she had once again ventured into the alien realm of consoling advice.

"I'm still not sure about seeking out solace…"

"You don't think that's exactly what Julia would be doing right now?"

Jin mustered the courage to finally face his contemporary eye-to-eye.

"But that's part of the problem. I don't know WHAT'S happening to her right now…I don't know if she's inside her head in a cell, or being electrocuted or tortured, or experimented on, or even…" he choked on that thought before continuing, "…Nina, we can't be careless about this. Our heads are on the line. Any mistake, and that's it. We have to plan carefully or the bastard will have us and Julia will be gone!" He emphasized his frustration by reflexively flinging his arm…

…which, in turn, caused the doors of one of the weapons cabinet to swing open. Both Jin and Nina immediately turned their attention to the startling phenomenon. The former's body froze, mortified and shocked.

"What the hell just happened?" Nina asked nervously.

With trepidation, the young man flicked his arm at the cabinet with as much subtlety as he could muster, to see if it would react.

And it did. Several katanas in the cabinet reacted very strongly to the cardboard targets at the shooting range.

"Nice shot!" Nina complimented.

"I don't think I like this…" Jin gazed fearfully into the palm of his hand.

"Your powers must be growing," Nina theorized.

"What? What do you mean? How is this happening?" Jin was becoming more and more frantic, and the room reflected that, as Nina started feeling the floor tremble slightly.

"Jin, you wanna cool it a little?" she warned, noticing the man's obliviousness to the tremors.

"My body doesn't feel hot, and I can see…I'm not even in Devil form!" the tremors in the room grew still.

"This is really nothing to freak out about," Nina noted, fairly concerned for her safety…and her training room's.

"I'm NOT freaking out!" Jin stubbornly cried. A bulb from the ceiling lamp burst and all of the remaining contents of both weapons cabinets spilled out into a clanking mess to emphasize this control. Nina jumped in the process.

"Alright, maybe a little," he conceded.

"Thank you for meeting with us, Mishima-san. I regret that our superior was unable to meet with you directly."

Heihachi, dolled up in a dark purple business suit and bearing a briefcase, was led into one of the nightclub's private meeting rooms by three dapper, tuxedoed, almost identical Japanese gentlemen, one of whom was carrying a briefcase of his own. Two armored Tekken Force bodyguards remained standing behind him as he took a seat on one of the armchairs. The three dapper gentlemen effectively mimicked this action, with the middle gentleman taking on the role of representative, sitting on the opposite couch and setting his briefcase on the table.

The Mishima CEO opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the appearance of a forty-something blonde Japanese waitress in a dress that should never have even seen the light of day, much less this woman's body. She handed each seated man a cocktail before departing the scene with the sexiest walk she could muster. The two parties received a sample of a disco ball and a Japanese experimental rock band when the waitress opened and closed the door.

"Well," Heihachi cleared his throat before continuing, "I'm just glad to get out of that dank, malodorous laboratory for a while. I've been informed that your organization might be able to assist me in the removal of a potential thorn."

"Yes, we responded to your bounty as soon as we received notification. Our leader has a personal stake in this mark, going so far as to refuse any other bounties. He was eager to see a price on the Beast's head after having fallen from the radar for so long."

Heihachi almost spewed his beverage in the face of the gentleman at the utterance of the word "Beast". "'The Beast'? Is that what you call-"

"Yes," the representative confirmed, "I believe that's been a commonly-used title by many. We're certainly pleased that you employed the Akahasu's services."

"Yes, yes," Heihachi's tone implied a desire to avoid customer service conventions, "what skills does your organization have to offer?"

"Our organization is comprised of experienced, individually-trained assassins and mercenaries with across-the-board skills as well as expertise in sharpshooting, swordsmanship, hacking, espionage, various hand-to-hand and weapons-based combat; every talent imaginable."

The old man simply stared with indifference; while retaining his professional composure, the salesman scrambled to think of an idea to keep his buyer interested.

"We have dossiers available on our highest-ranking members, if you're interested," he offered.

Heihachi nodded in approval. The gentleman opened his briefcase, retrieving seven file folders from its contents, and spread them out neatly on the table for his client to examine. He scanned them briefly, taking note of such career highlights as a successful headshot at a mile's distance, the undetected, total dispatch of a high-security convention of Social Democratic Party politicians (the client was a disgruntled supporter of the People's New Party) in a matter of minutes, near-instant acquisition and deciphering of heavily-decrypted data from the U.S. Pentagon, and even an infiltrator whose undercover work garnered him a culinary award from Le Cordon Bleu Tokyo.

"Well, your assets certainly ARE impressive," Heihachi observed, "and since I need all the assistance I can get, and there's no harm in hiring your services either way…even with all the other hunters on the mark…you're hired."

"Very good, Mishima-san!" the representative confirmed, while managing to keep his excitement from bursting, "Our leader will be pleased to hear this news."

Heihachi sensed the young man's enthusiasm, careful himself not to put his minor amusement at this on display. "I should mention that the target is in cooperation with a very dangerous ally," he explained, retrieving a photo and file of said ally from his case for benefit of the gentleman.

"I recommend that you not engage this ally if at all possible, but use EXTREME caution if confrontation becomes necessary. They are more than likely going to be joined at the hip, so separate them if at all possible. I'm sure in time, your forces could adapt. But we've discovered new developments that are, to say the least…troubling."

"Of course, Mishima-san," the rep acknowledged, "the Akahasu would, of course, appreciate the Zaibatsu's full cooperation and assistance in up-to-date intel on the Beast's whereabouts and activities, while we'll be gathering our own data…"

"Yes, whatever you want," Heihachi downed the remainder of his beverage; this representative was trying much too hard.

"One more thing," the elderly client requested, "just what _is_ this so-called personal stake your employer has?"

"Well, I _was _planning to renovate this room."

Nina took care in stepping over the broken glass, training equipment, rafters, and other debris that now defined her training room. She surveyed the overall casualties with a glance around the room, then located the cause of the damage, who was occupying a corner of the space and huddled in a ball, not unlike a severely disturbed mental patient.

"Were you seriously in here all night?" she asked incredulously.

Jin stopped himself from nodding in fear of triggering a telekinetic cataclysm, and instead uttered a mousy "yes".

"Well, balls for you. Collect your angst so we can get going."

"…I can't."

Nina inhaled, rubbed her temples agitatedly with her index finger and thumb, and asked "Why?"

"Look around you! This curse in my body is completely out of my control! It'll get worse, and I could destroy everything I even look at…I could kill more innocent people…maybe even Julia…I can't. I have to stay here and learn how to control it."

"Well, you're certainly doing a _bang-up_ job of actively learning to control it in that there unmoving fetal position. Jin…while I appreciate your sincere concern for everything _other_ than my home, you're going to be attending a _fighting_ match, in a Zaibatsu-owned facility, no less. And you're _concerned_ about causing violence?"

"Well…it's just that…" he let out a sigh, "…God, I dunno."

Nina strode over to the paranoid young fellow, and offered her hand. She witnessed the trepidation in his eyes.

"It's all right. It's not like there's much left in here for you to destroy anyway."

Silent deliberation swept Jin away for a moment, followed a hesitant outstretched hand inching closer, closer, and closer, until it connected with his partner, who hoisted him up.

"See? No mind avalanche." She patted his shoulder with rather manly force, and started for the doorway.

"Uh, Nina?"

"Yeah." She turned to give audience.

Jin had only just cared to notice the attire Nina was wearing in lieu of her upcoming stealth assignment: a purple, velvety jacket with sleeves reaching just past the elbows covering a red top, a beige mini-skirt, and light-colored slip-on heels. There was but one key accessory absent that would have rounded out this otherwise chic ensemble: practicality.

"Don't you think that's a bit inappropriate?" he asked in order to address this missing component.

"Mmhmm!" she nodded emphatically in agreement and pointed to the doorway with her thumb, "you ready to go?"

The young Akahasu sentry stood alertly with his katana at the deserted back entrance to the Mishima Polytechnical School, having spent most of his watch counting the numerous tinted, one-way windows it boasted. 248 of them, so far. And that was just the back wall.

Of course, he would have been able to confirm his estimate had an unseen force not thrust his katana out of his hand and flung him into the wall. He had but a few seconds to collect himself, step away from the wall and look for the source of the attack before both a blonde woman and a similarly Asian man appeared and kicked him squarely in the chest tag-team style, sending him back into the wall again. He'd realized he miscounted by 1 before slipping out of the realm of consciousness.

"Looks like you're getting some control after all," Nina observed.

"Looks like it. Guess we'll have to see."

"Interesting new uniforms they've got there," she further opined, and headed to the glass double doors with her laptop case, which contained a variety of equipment. She kneeled and started fudging around with the case.

"Alright, here's the plan. First thing we gotta do is use this infrared scanner…okay, no signs of life within sixty feet at least that I can see from here. Next step is to cut a hole in this here window with my laser pen, and send in the Stingray 2.0 to monitor the halls for any staff or handsomely-dressed neo-samurai. After that, I'll toss this flashbang grenade…"

In the midst of Nina's algorithmic plotting, Jin casually inspected the downed guard's pockets, seized a keycard, paced over to the reader situated next to the doors, slid it through in one smooth stroke, yanked the right door open after a satisfying beep, and waited for the ex-assassin to snap back into reality.

"Right, we could do that too," she said, rising sheepishly. Jin walked over and handed her the keycard, which she pocketed in her jacket.

"I think you'll find what you're looking for in the principal's office," Jin informed, "it's probably moved since I was a student here, so I'm not sure where it is."

"No sweat. You gonna be able to contain your inner Beelzebub?"

"I hope not."

"That's what I like to hear. Call my cell phone when the match is over."

"Got it. Don't be too stealthy in those heels."

The two exchanged a three-way fist bump, after which Nina commanded, "Let's do this."

Their ways were thus parted.

The front of the school was a dramatic overhaul from the rear. A raucous crowd of perhaps every ethnicity imaginable was hungrily anticipating the battle of a lifetime…or at least, a slightly overcast Sunday afternoon. Jin scanned the gathering for any sign of his devoted fanbase, and was relieved to find them absent thus far. A sound system and improvised arena with gym mats had been set up, and more katana-wielding guards in tuxedos were also present. He made sure to keep his distance, and draw no attention until the start of the match.

"Yo, Kazama!" a raspy voice greeted.

_So much for that._

Jin turned to find the mohawked, 5-'o-clock-shadowed, gi-clad source of the greeting: Paul Phoenix.

_Heh. So this is who Nina signed me up with. _"Phoenix."

The judo practitioner strode over to his opponent, and rubbed a hand on his thigh before extending it. A simple handshake resulted.

"What's up, dude? It's been a few years. You look good, man."

Apparently, Paul's definition of 'good' extended to unshaven, depressed insomniacs.

First floor, west wing.

This section boasted of nothing extraordinary. Just a simple, marble-floored hallway lined with typical classroom doors of wooden construction and narrow, vertical windows. Other than the occasional potted plant and a trophy case displaying the school's various athletic achievements, the hall contained nothing peculiar.

Onward Nina ventured.

The tournament announcer, an unremarkable Japanese fellow, dressed business-casually, finally emerged from the ocean of spectators to initiate today's match. "Paul Phoenix! Jin Kazama! Are you present?" he boomed from a set of two speakers and a wired microphone.

Jin's fully divided attention was unable to process the announcer's request.

"Jin Kazama, calling for Jin Kazama!"

He gazed with anticipation at the school building, unable to quell the swarm of moths that had taken up residence in his stomach.

"Jin Kazama! Are you here?"

Nina's progress was a pressing concern to him.

"He's here, lemme drag 'im up," Paul offered.

_I hope this plan works. Find something in there…anything!_

"Hey dude, wake up! We gotta go!" The American touched the distracted youth's shoulder to grab his attention.

Reflexively, Jin grabbed what he thought was an assailant's hand and flipped him over, smacking Paul onto the unprotected concrete with a cringe-worthy thud. The audience scrambled over to the scene to spectate.

Realizing his error almost immediately, Jin attempted to explain himself: "Paul! I didn't real-"

Paul knocked down his unintentional aggressor with a sweeping kick before springing back up into a standing position.

The blindsided announcer grabbed his microphone and ordered: "Uh….FIGHT!"

First floor, central area.

This appeared to be the front office. The wall was lined up with portraits of the high school's Principals past and present. A small lounge with a couch and two armchairs was available for waiting guests. The receptionist's window gave way to the administrative offices. Two guards stood by the windows, witnessing the scuffle outside.

Nina double backed into the hall as soon as the engaged sentries came under her scope of vision.

_No problem._ Adjusting her case to ensure its firmness on her shoulder, the assassin successfully crept across the room and slipped through the window, all the while wearing heels that would've given away anyone else within the first step. The guards remained engrossed in the brutal spectacle outside.

All in all, it was a flawlessly executed maneuver. Well, if not for an unnoticed slip of paper with attendance records on the floor grinding noisily against her shoe, it would have been.

Stifling the urge to curse out the inanimate record sheet, she swiftly hit the deck and curled into a ball under the receptionist's desk, quietly sliding the sheet with her and tucking her case to one side. She heard a voice in Japanese issue the command: "Go."

One of the well-dressed (and equally-armed) gentlemen reluctantly retreated from his current position to investigate. He swiped his cardkey through the reader, and entered the door next to the window.

Left hook: miss. Right hook: almost hit. Left uppercut: parried. Gut punch, direct hit.

Jin gasped on impact. The speed of Paul's strikes had certainly increased substantially since their last encounter. Then again, so had Jin's evasion skills….mostly.

The half-Devil narrowly swayed away from another blow, and decided to reclaim the offensive by tackling the currently-overpowering Paul to the ground with a furious roar.

He wasted no time dealing the blows from his superior position. The assailed had equal time-management skill in forcefully pushing the young man off, then launching him overhead with his foot.

Jin found the concrete surface to be most unwelcoming. He hopped to his feet, and found the newly-created distance between himself and his opponent created a potential opportunity.

_Here goes…_as Paul rushed forward to unleash another heavy-hitter, the empowered you thrust his hand outward in hopes of a telekinetic defense.

Direct hit!

…on a spectator's purse. The unsuspecting, elderly owner scrambled to the ground to collect the makeup and other assorted belongings, bewildered at the phenomenon.

_Gotta focus! _Jin berated mentally.

Being struck in the face and again kissing the pavement made regaining such that much more of a challenge.

"Nothing," reported the guard in his native Japanese after completing a sweep of the administrative offices.

Nina, with all the skill of a master contortionist, had successfully concealed herself in a tight nook beneath the reception desk. She crawled back to the more spacious center to stretch her body back into comfort, and let out as silent a sigh of relief as she could muster.

"She may have just passed by us," opined the other, "and I certainly hope she did."

Nina felt the investigative guard lean against the reception window.

_Ohh, bad idea._

"Getting cold feet?" he taunted, not budging from his dangerous position.

"Have you heard what they are capable of by themselves? Still, it's flattering that Mishima-san commissioned our services."

_So the tuxedos aren't Zaibatsu personnel…_

"Man up," he chided, "how dangerous do you think a woman and a love-obsessed boy could be?"

_Go._

Without a nanosecond ill-spent, Nina swiftly rose from her cover and cleanly snapped the dissenter's neck. She clasped onto the upper edge of the window and swung her legs into the remaining guard, effectively disarming and knocking him down. Her next maneuver was to step on the downed warrior and step on his neck with her heel.

Unable to speak, the younger, less-experienced victim stared down the woman with a blend of fear and defiance in his eyes. He was clearly just a boy, employed by some shadowy organization, be it due to the yearning for an exciting life or his own youthful rebelliousness. After a silent moment, her own eyes replied-with impassivity.

With a last divine Twist of Judgment, she crushed her helpless victim's windpipe before he could let out an alerting scream.

She stepped off of the body to collect herself.

_It's been a while since my last kill…it feels…different somehow. Meh, I just have to get back in the game…_

She dragged the bodies into a random office and, after discerning from nameplates on the doors that the principal's office was, in fact, not among them, she collected her case and continued her search.

"EEYAH!" Jin cried in a fit of rage, thrusting his hand forward in the umpteenth attempt at unleashing his power.

Previously, the old lady's purse, a buttoned-up suede coat, a little girl's pigtails, the front tire of a Hyundai, and a fire hydrant had succumbed to the destructive wrath of the fighter's unfocused telekinesis.

Paul then joined the list with this one. While being knocked back in the air, he managed to perform a flip and land gracefully enough on his feet. _What the hell was that?_ He thought.

"Wow, that's some ki he's got there!" commented a spectator.

Proud of himself, Jin dove back into the fray.

Second floor, east wing.

"GOTCHA! I finally found you. No escaping now!" Nina gloated victoriously at her find.

She pressed the appropriate button on the vending machine and helped herself to a bottle of blueberry Ramune.

"Oh, sweet goodness. The market's been out of this flavor for weeks."

In fact, this entire hall was lined with vending machines with a potpourri of wares: soda, candy, school supplies, CDs, automotive liquids, even bras and panties.

After consuming her delightful beverage and disposing of it in a nearby trash can, Nina reluctantly quested on in search of the headmaster's office.

Jin's (somewhat) improved mastery of telekinesis had certainly helped keep him on his feet during this match (as well as keep Paul off his). Many tuxedoed gentlemen still remained planted throughout the audience, so it also seemed to be buying Nina more time to conduct her investigation.

The evasive combat was starting to disappoint him. The call of the battlefield was urging him to remove the muzzle on his primal smackdown skills.

That call line's reception blurred slightly when Paul kicked him into the wall. Jin narrowly dodged another blow from his opponent and use the open space in reaction time to deliver a jumping kick to Paul's back, effectively bestowing upon him similar treatment to the wall.

_Now we're talkin'._

_Goal._

After eluding several more tuxedoed sentries (most of whom had immersed themselves in the fight outside by way of the windows), getting distracted watching the fight _herself,_ and taking a pit stop in a well-maintained restroom, Nina had finally reached the Principal's office, as confirmed by the nameplate on the door.

Excitement coursing through her veins, she swiped her cardkey in the reader.

No satisfying click was heard.

Again, she attempted. Not a sound. Another swipe. Nothing.

"Dammit! Must need special clearance."

So she broke the door handle to get it. She slipped inside, gingerly palced her equipment case on the floor and shut the door slowly so as not to attract any unnecessary attention.

Her careful measure didn't seem to matter, however, as a group of the well-dressed, armed mercs she had gotten accustomed to seeing were all in the room, waiting for her.

"Oh," Nina chuckled with an innocent expression, "shit."

Jin's rekindled fighting flame had burned out.

After the youth had momentarily gained the upper hand, Paul re-seized the momentum and pummeled him within an inch of oblivion. Jin helplessly staggered in place, dizzy and numb from the relentless assault he had endured.

Then it came. Paul drew his arm back, focusing into it bright red energy. This was it: The Burning Fist, the all-powerful finisher that had sent so many victory-minded combatants packing. Paul had executed this deathblow with consistent perfection, and no man exposed to it ever managed to see the next round.

And Jin caught it. His eyes glowed Devil-red as he held Paul's fist firmly within his grasp, burning energy and all. All the latter could do was stare in shock and bewilderment and fruitlessly attempt to wriggle free. The Devil, having resumed temporary mental control of its host, smirked at its helpless victim, then released.

Paul stumbled back, looking mortified at his smoking, nearly charred hand. The Devil basked in the borrowed energy surging throughout Jin's body, then collected it into a punch aimed at the stunned opponent's gut.

The sea of spectators parted as Paul flew through them and into the window of a pawn shop…three blocks away.

The red glow faded. Jin gasped as he regained control of his senses. _What just…_his body felt that familiar cool down chill, and then he knew. The utter silence of a flabbergasted and confused audience confirmed his suspicions.

He surveyed the massive crowd, noiseless and gawking at him and his sudden display of aggression. It was, among others, a very awkward feeling for the fighter.

"JIN KAZAMA WINS!" interjected the announcer, and the crowd erupted with a barrage of cheers and praise.

"Heh…" Jin scratched his head, dumbfounded at the bipolar audience.

The victor of the recently-culminated schoolyard brawl had managed to successfully secure undetected passage to the back of the building without notice from the raucous crowd, and dialed his Nina-issued cell phone to ascertain his partner's whereabouts.

"Jin, baby! Talk to me."

"Did you find anything?" he asked anxiously.

"Uhhh…not yet. I'm working on it."

Little did Jin know that Nina was simultaneously engaged in a swordfight with one of the surviving mercs, having retrieved her weapons from a defeated foe in the room, and communicating with him via phone. She had currently felled four of the six who had ambushed her.

"Well…did you find the Principal's office?"

"Sure did!" Nina responded, back-kicking a guard who had attempted to attack from behind, while keeping most of her focus on her swordplay. His head hit the sharp corner of a filing cabinet, and he slipped out cold.

"Where is it? I'll meet you there."

"Oh, yeah! I'm in…oh, hold on a second." She placed her cell phone on her right shoulder.

"Excuse me," she asked her dueling partner, "what room number is this?"

"It's room 212, ma'am," he replied, unflinching in his fencing prowess.

"Room 212! It's in room 212! Second floor." she shouted into the phone, splitting her attention again.

"Hang tight. I'll meet you."

"Just a sec! See if you can destroy any security cameras while you're at it!" Nina suggested.

"Uh…yeah. Will do." He confirmed.

Jin found himself curious at the noises of what sounded like the clanking of metal and exchanging of blows that was obscuring Nina's speech.

"Are you alright? What's happening?"

"Oh, nothin-OOF!" Nina was stunned by a surprise punch in the face, and then knocked down by a fan kick. The assassin quickly shielded herself from an oncoming finishing stab by grinding her enemy's katana against her own blade, and soon returned his earlier gesture with a swift kick to his valuables from her downed position. The resulting yelp was quite satisfying for her to hear.

"It sounds like you're having a brawl, or something!"

"Oh, what makes you say that?" she questioned, cramming the phone between her neck and shoulder while attempted to wrestle the sword out of the opponent's grip. She decided the best method with which to accomplish this was to snap his arm. More lovely sounds associated with overpowering the enemy chorused into her ears.

"I'm on my way in," he informed, "now just WHAT is going on in there?"

"I really haven't the slightest clue what you're talking about," stated Nina coyly, finishing the helpless tuxedoed soldier by elbowing him forcefully in the face, "watch for any guards on your way in. Do hurry."

She hung up before Jin could get another word in. He shook his head and set his sights on the interior of the school. _Not even going to think about it._

Nina looked around at the damage she had caused. Six unconscious (some possibly dead) bodies provided the cherry on top of a whipped cream mess of strewn files, shattered pots, broken portraits, and overturned chairs. 'Nam couldn't top the mess for a second. It seemed the Principal's desk and computer remained the only components left intact in the office.

She kneeled over the body of one of her attempted assailants, and noticed the design of a red flower of some sort sewn onto his jacket pocket. The tuxedoes of the others were adorned in the same manner. She stood and contemplated for a second, decided that no bells were ringing, then retrieved her equipment and got to work at the desk.

Jin wandered into the Principal's office, cued to its location by the sound of rapid typing (along with not-so-subtle cursing coming from an Irish voice). He found his friend tirelessly hacking, decrypting or performing whatever necessary invasive computing procedure on the computer. He was impressed at the job she'd done on the new incapacitated tuxedoes on the floor.

"Ugh! Goddamn piece of shit-oh, there we go." Sensing someone in the room, Nina crooned her head to confirm Jin's presence, then returned to the screen. "Hey, Jin."

"Hey."

Eyes still glued to the screen, she asked, "How did the match go?"

Jin had been unable to rid himself of the post-Devil chill, and the mere discomfort of losing control of his body to that..thing…for even a second further haunted him. This made him unsure of how to tackle the issue with her.

"About that…I think I…I have to show you something, or talk to you about it, I don't know…"

Nina turned completely away from the desk, staring down the young man with a hand around her chin, as if to analyze him.

"…you don't have Herpes, do you?" she blunted with morbid curiosity.

"What? No." He gawked as if her head was growing its own unmentionables, "I think my powers just advanced again."

"Oh." She turned back to the desk to resume her task. "What is it?"

"I'm not sure exactly…I absorbed energy, or physical force or something from Paul, and channeled it back."

"Huh," Nina replied after a moment of contemplation, "first the Phoenix, now Bishop. I wonder if you'll control the weather next! Wait, no. Too badass for you. Probably would be _my_ power if I were a she-Devil. My money's on rapid healing."

"What are you talking about?"

"Forget it. Makes sense that you're pop-culture deprived. Almost done!"

"Really?" Jin paced excitedly to the desk to monitor her progress.

"Yeah, it's at 92% right now. Then everything's gonna load into my data disk, and we'll be just dandy." Nina's typing to override the system's safety measures continued unwavering.

"Are you sure we'll find anything helpful here?" he asked with trace amounts of skepticism.

"Considering all the protocols I've been having to bypass, there's definitely something somebody doesn't want people seeing," she suggested, "either we're about to hit the other side of our rainbow or the headmaster's got a well-protected bukkake collection."

"98%, 99%...come on!" Jin was trembling with excitement. The notion of any new information that could expedite Julia's rescue was a glorious idea to soak up.

Bang. One downed merc reviving and firing a concealed pistol at the computer was all it took to crash that new development. It was unclear whether he was attempting to protect the computer's secrets, or was just a lousy shot. He fell unconscious again.

Nina, who had toppled over in her chair upon hearing the gunshot, scrambled back to the computer in hopes of salvage. "Son of a BITCH! Come on, dammit! Don't do this to me…shit. It's gone. I can't do anything."

Labored breathing pre-empted a ravaging fit of knocking over every knick knack that was still intact from the previous scuffle and punching a hole in the wall before Jin took every milliliter of control at his disposal to control his tantrum.

Nina sat patiently, seemingly understanding of Jin's reaction. She appeared not the least bit perturbed.

"Sorry," he apologized between more labored breaths, "I'm fine now. What do we do now?"

"We need to get the hell outta dodge. I'm sure another lead will fall into our laps eventually." She left the chair and gathered her belongings.

"Fine. Let's go. I've had enough of this place since I graduated."

"Alright, we need to employ stealth," Nina commanded, "I managed to get two of them by surprise, but they're a force to be reckoned with, and they may be sending in reinforcements, so let's book it without drawing any attention-"

"JIN!" cried a bubbly voice down the hall.

Out of nowhere, a petite, pigtailed, Chinese girl in a pink summer dress bounced into the man's arms. It was none other than Jin's trusted friend, Ling Xiaoyu.

"L-ling..." he stammered, happy to see his friend yet bewildered at her sudden appearance, "what are you doing here?"

"To support _you_, silly!" Refusing to leave his arms, she wrapped hers around his neck, "I lost in the last round but I figured I'd come see my buddy! You were AWESOME just now! You've gotten so strong and powerful, you could probably even beat up Panda, but you'd have to wait on that because I had to leave her home since Customs has gotten a lot stricter and I wouldn't really want you beating on her anyway-"

"Excuse me," Nina interrupted as intensely and quietly as she could, "can we PLEASE take this reunion somewhere else?"

"Oh, hi, Nora!" Xiaoyu chirped, having finally noticed the blonde.

"Nina," she corrected with contempt.

"Oh, gotcha! Anyway, Jin, I followed you after you left the crowd and I was really curious to find out what you're doing inside the high school 'cuz I do remember you really, really hated being here especially since Okuda-san, the science teacher who was always such a meanie to you and now that he's the Assistant Principal I'm just really curious to find-"

"Let's GO, people," Nina urged.

"Hey! I'm TRYING to catch up with a dear friend I haven't seen in a while. It can wait, Gina!"

"IT'S NINA!" she burst, before covering her mouth. _Shit._

Not a second had made its ascent before footsteps echoed wildly throughout all sides of the hall.

"Dammit, they're coming. Quick, we need to hide."

Having broken the lock to the Principal's quarters, Nina figured the best hiding spot for the trio would be a nearby janitor's closet. A cramped, dark janitor's closet with a bucket of mop water that the custodian had forgotten to empty from the previous day.

The arrangement was not boding well for them.

"…and Miharu NEVER knew that the sweet and sour sauce and the hot mustard had been switched!" Xiaoyu laughed a screechingly high-pitched laugh at what must've been her fourth or fifth anecdote. Nina silently wished she had an object with which to off herself…or Xiaoyu.

"So, Nina," the Chinese girl initiated a conversation with the assassin, completely missing the point of why they were in the closet in the first place, "what have you been doing here? Have you been home to Wales lately?"

"…Wales?" Nina was stupefied.

"Oh, I've always wanted to go there. So many beautiful things to do, nice, jolly, people…oh, and it's just so lush and GREEN!"

Nina's boiling point exceeded the minimum required temperature. Seething, she turned to Jin.

"Jin, open the door. NOW."

"I thought you wanted to-"

"OPEN IT."

"No complaint from me."

"Alright, get ready to brawl," Nina instructed.

Unsure of what exactly was going on, Xiaoyu took stance along with Nina and Jin, with the former kicking the door open, prepared to unleash hell on the army of…

…one. One, simple, run-of-the-mill katana-wielding gentleman was the sole obstruction between them and escaping.

"Wow, the acoustics in this place are REALLY misleading," surmised the blonde.

Jin read that the lone ranger standing before them had already acknowledged his sealed fate. The Niagara-grade perspiration and trembling accentuated his doubt.

"THE BEAST!" cried the brave little katana-wielding toaster upon recognition of his target.

_The Beast_? Jin thought in amusement, _Just how many nicknames do they have for the Devil?_

The little warrior that could assumed a samurai stance, Jin assumed a regular battle stance, Xiaoyu assumed a confused one, and Nina was smirking for some reason.

The half-Devil steeled himself, while in actuality hardly expecting the battle to take long. _I'll show him just what this 'Beast' can do_.

The merc then sprinted forward with the fiercest battle cry he could muster, causing Xiaoyu to dash to the side. Jin kept his eyes on his pursuer, as he headed straight for…

…Nina. She performed a roundhouse kick as he lunged at her, knocking the wind straight out of him. She stood quietly above her latest victory, starry-eyed and appearing to be in a deep state of bliss.

"Wanna tell me what's going on?" questioned the confused young man.

"Me too!" piped Xiaoyu, "I took out some of these guys downstairs. They were all talking about 'The Beast'. What do they mean?"

"The Beast," she explained, "is what my enemies and people in the biz used to call me…*sniff*…way back when…I truly was…" her voice choked. She took a moment to reminisce to herself about those Halcyon Days.

"Uh…huh." was all Jin could think of to say.

"So what do we do with this guy?" asked Xiaoyu, inspecting his out-cold form.

"He's definitely not from the Zaibatsu ranks," Nina informed them, "but he could probably tip us on some very important information…with the right persuasion." The Irish woman looked at her partner before continuing, "this day might not be a waste after all."

Jin followed her thought train perfectly. "We take him with us."

"I see why you wanted me to sleep on the couch," Jin stated. The two had chained their hapless victim to all four posts of the guest bed, stripped him right to the tighty-whities and blindfolded him.

"Look, buster," Nina threatened in a menacing tone, "unless you want the whip, two broken thumbs, AND the titty twister this time, you'll tell us what we want to know."

"Never! I have more resolve than a thousand winds! My will is obstinate! You'd fare better cutting down a thousand armies before you crack me, Beast!"

The two interrogators sent each other looks of ridicule at their detainee's verbosity. Jin decided to have a go.

"I'm losing patience very quickly. Do you know what it means to piss off one with the Devil gene? I don't think you want to add yourself to that list…" Jin telekinetically grabbed a spare chain from the floor and wrapped it around the captor's neck.

Turned out his mind had far greater tightening capability than the old-fashioned way ever could hope to attempt.

"Urgh! Associate of the Beast!" he choked between declarations, "I will not bow to you, Devil! You have no sway over me! Kill me if it is your will! You will never reap the fruits of my knowledge!"

Jin's mind released the chain in frustration. "What is it gonna TAKE with this maniac?"

"Nothing! I will NEVER submit!"

At that point, Nina walked over and stared the man down. Having been blindfolded so his whereabouts would not be disclosed to him, this had less of an effect than she would have hoped.

"Oh, yes. YOU WILL."

"I know, I was speechless too!" Xiaoyu burst into another fit of giggles at the conclusion of yet another exciting life experience.

"OH!" she remembered, "Have I told you about the time Panda and I went camping on Huangshan Mountain?"

"Please, no," the chained man whimpered.

"Oh, well, I'll tell you about it! You see, it was a cloudy afternoon in September, or wait, no, I think it was a sunny August morning, or something, but anyway, Panda told me that I'd forgotten my sleeping bag, which was so sweet of her, so I went to this new department store that had just opened across the street from our house, but I remembered I had to pick up my dry cleaning before they closed, so I had to switch buses-"

The POW was powerless to resist.

"You know, I don't think anybody deserves that," Nina said woefully, listening to the story from the main hallway.

"As long as he squeaks, I don't care what we put him through." Said Jin resolutely.

"You're turning into quite the hardass." She observed.

"What's it to you?"

"Nothing. Just don't be getting' too merciless. There's only room for one badass in this house."

"Whatever." Jin headed towards the balcony, in need of a quiet place of contemplation.

"Uh…hey, Jin."

He turned to grant audience.

"I'm not very good at this, but…I get it."

Jin was not up for guessing games. "What?" he asked, short of patience.

"About what you said last night…and your guilt. It makes sense. You're in the right place to put her feelings above yours. But you're working nonstop to get her back. That counts above any betraying happy releases. You've done nothing wrong. Anyway…that's all." She was happy to get rid of those morbid insights that caused her stomach to turn.

Jin leaned against the windowed counter of the kitchen, absorbing the message.

"There's not going to be any fun from this point on," he informed, "not that there ever was. But it means something that you think it's okay. My heart's being ripped from my chest and force fed to me, but contemplating how I should be feeling isn't going to get her back in my arms…" he decided to stop there. His eyes were heavy enough as it was.

"OH GOD, PLEASE! YOU WIN! I'LL TELL! I'LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING! PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! MAKE IT STOP!"

"Looks like your suggestion paid off," Jin complimented, shaking off his grief. Nina nodded and the two marched into the guest room.

"He seems a lot more open now!" Xiaoyu observed, "I'm always happy to apply my life to break people out of their shells!"

Jin chuckled and shook his head discreetly. _Same old Ling._

"Well, then," Nina stated, punching a fist into her palm, "seems to me we're all gonna have a little chat, then."

The vomit had more liquid content this time around. Perhaps less chemicals were present in this experimental drug.

Tears streamed down Julia's dirty cheeks, though she wasn't sure if it was a result of her gag reflex or just the pure. Agony. She slumped against the cold stone wall and let the tears liberate themselves.

"Julia."

_I know that voice…_She immediately crooned her head in all directions to pinpoint the source.

It couldn't be.

"It's me. I'm here."

"Jin…?" she choked breathlessly, as the tears turned to waterfalls.

There was her man, in all his handsome, pine-scented, wife beater glory.

Defying the jelly that her legs had become, Julia ran to reacquaint herself with his shielding embrace.

"I knew you'd come for me," she spoke between sobs, "I knew it, I-"

"Woah, woah, hang on a minute." He abruptly pulled her away. Immediately, a stinging chill overcame her body, not unlike the drugs she'd been unwillingly subjected to during her equally forced stay in the facility.

"Jin, what-"

"I can't do this. I can't be with you anymore."

"…why? Jin, I don't understand-"

"I couldn't protect you when you needed it the most."

"Jin, it's okay. You've done nothing wrong, you couldn't have known-"

"But I did. And I have to suffer the torment of living without you. I'm not coming. As my punishment, you have to stay here."

Jin dissipated in a gassy mist just as soon as the hope was ripped from her being.

_Must have been a hallucinogen…_

Overwhelmed with so many damning sensations, Julia collapsed, barely missing the pile of vomit.

_Julia Chang._

"_Go away, please, no more torment…."_

_You must heed my words._

"_Wait. I know you. I've met you before, somewhere…you can't be one of the Spirits. I feel…I feel a crumbling dark energy eminating from you…"_

_That dark energy is going to be your salvation._

"_What do you mean?"_

_My powers are growing weaker each passing day, so we must act quickly. I can aid you in your escape. You must place your trust in me. Do I have it?_

"_I don't know you…what are you planning?"_

_There will be time for that later. Do I have your trust?_

"…_very well. It's not like I have any other options."_

_Good. I will visit you again soon. Stay strong. Do not waver your resolve._

"_Wait! Come back…"_

Julia shot up from her resting place, dazed. There was an overwhelming dark aura that she couldn't shake away.

It was the most comforting presence she had felt in weeks.

_A/N: Whew, finally done with another one. Before Chapter 8 is to be posted, I will be doing heavy revisions to at least the first two chapters, for the sake of updating my writing skills and introducing new plot elements. PLEASE READ those after I post them, so future chapters will make more sense. Appreciate your support as always!_


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